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CAN I JOIN THE CHURCH OF ROME WHILE MY RULE OF FAITH 

IS THE BIBLE ? 



AN INQUIRY 



PRESENTED TO 



THE CONSCIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN READER. 

BY THP 

/ 

REV. CJISAR M ALAN, D.D., 

PASTOR OF THE " CHURCH OF THE TESTIMONY," GENEVA^ 

TRANSLATED FROM THE SECOND FRENCH EDITION. 

" Thou art my portion, Lord : I have said that I would keep thy words."— P*. cxix., 5T. 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION, 

BY THE REV. DR. BAIRD. 




NEW-YORK: 

PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, 

No. 82 Cliff-Street. 

1844. 




4S''' 

?v^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by 

Harper & Brothers, 
la the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New-York. 



^^7 



/i 



CONTENTS. 



Tan 

Introduction to the American Edition. 
Author's Preface and Introduction. 
Principal Points of Doctrine of the Church of 
Rome 7 



PART I. 

THB REVELATION OP GRACE, OR THE HOLY SCRIP- 
TURES. 

CHAPTER I. 

The Authority of the Bible .... 9 
Contrariety of Opinion on this Subject . . 10 

CHAPTER II. 
The Apocryphal Books . . : . . 11 
Contrariety of Testimony 12 

CHAPTER m. 

Tradition 13 

Contrariety of Testimony on this Point . . 14 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Vulgate ; . 15 

CHAPTER V. 

Translation of the Scriptures into the common 
Language.— Reading of the Bible by the Peo- 

^Ple 16 

Contrariety of Opinion ib. 



PART IL 

THE ADMINISTRATION OP GRACE, OR THE CHURCH 
ON EARTH. 



The Church 



18 



CHAPTER I. 

Unity, Infallibility, and Permanency of the 
Church of Rome 19 

Sect. 1. Her Unity in the Faith . [ ] ib. 

Sect. 2. Summary of the History of the Church 
of Rome 21 

Sect. 3. Differences on the Rule of Faith '. 25 

CHAPTER IL 
Unity of the Bible Church . . . .26 

CHAPTER m. 

Discrepancy of Views in the Church of Rome 

respecting her Infallibihty and Permanency . 29 
Sect. 1. Contradictions of the Councils . . 30 
Sect. 2. Contradictions among the Popes '. 31 

CHAPTER IV. 

Antiquity, Catholicism, and Miracles of the 



Church of Rome 
Sect. 1 Antiquity 
Sect. 2. Catholicism, &c. 
The contrary Testimony , 
Sect. 3. Miracles and Prophecies 
Contrary Testimony . 



CHAPTER V. ^^ 

Zeal and Fidelity of the Church of Rome for the 
conversion of Souls and the extirpation of 
Heresies ^ .39 

CHAPTER VL 
His Holiness the Pope ..... 46 

CHAPTER VII. 

Supremacy of St. Peter ..... 48 

The opposite Testimony ... J * 49 

Sect. 1. Episcopate of St. Peter at Rome' ." 50 

Sect. 2. Succession of St. Peter ... 51 

CHAPTER VHL 
The Thirty Papal Schisms ... ih 



CHAPTER IX. 



The Antichrist 



CHAPTER X. 

The Worship of the Church of Rome' . 53 
Sect. 1. Prayers and Chanting in the Latiii 

Tongue -^ 

Contrary Testimony . . ei 

Sect. 2. The Eucharist . . .' .' ,* 5I 

Contrary Romish Testimony . . * .57 

CHAPTER XL 
Transubstantiation 53 

CHAPTER XIL 



The Mass 



60 



Opinions of the Fathers . .' * .' * 54 

CHAPTER XUL " 

Baptism and the Five Ordinances which the 

Church of Rome calls Sacraments 
Sect. 1. Baptism 
Sect. 2. Confirmation '. 
Sect. 3. Penance 
Sect. 4. Extreme Unction 
Contrary Testimony . 
Sect. 5. Ordination . 
Sect. 6. Chastity of the Church of Rome . 
Sect. 7. History of the Celibacy of the Priests 



Contradictions jj 



CHAPTER XIV. 
The Worship of the Virgin Mary 
Sect. 1. The Pilgrimage . 
Sect. 2. Invocation of the Virgin 
Discourse of a Romish Priest . 
Discourse of a Reformer . 



. 79 

. ib. 

. 80 

. 82 

. 84 



CHAPTER XV. 
Concealment of the Second Commandment by 
the Church of Rome . . . . . 86 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Confession of a Monk on the Worship of Angels 

and Saints , . . . . . . 88 

Sect. 1. The Worship of Angels * * 90 

Sect. 2. The Worship of Saints . ." ] ib 

The opposite Testimony .,.*.* 94 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Worship of the Cross and of Relics 
Sect. 1. Worship of the Cross . 
Sect. 2. The Worship of Relics 
Testimony of the Feathers . 



Page 
95 

96 
97 
104 



PART III. 

rlCXSONAL POSSKSSION OF SALVATION, OK THK 
PEACTE OF OOD AND HOLINESS. 

CHAPTER I. 

Salvation by Grace 105 

How can I possess Salvation ? . . . . 107 
Contrary Testimony ib. 

CHAPTER II. 

Assurance of Salvation Ill 

Testimony of the Fathers ib. 

CHAPTER III. 

Final Perseverance 112 

Testimony of the Fathers ib. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Penance 114 

Opposite Testimony 116 

CHAPTER V. 

Contrition 117 

Testimony of the Fathers 119 

CHAPTER VI. 
Confession and Absolution .... 120 

Sect. 1. Confession ifr. 

Contrary Testimony 121 

Sect. 2. Absolution 122 

Contrary Testimony 123 

CHAPTER VII. 
Purgatory and Indulgences .... 124 
Contrary Testimony respecting Purgatory . 128 
Contrary Testimony on Indulgences . . 129 
Contrary Testimony on the State of Souls after 
Death 131 



Conclusion 



132 



INTRODUCTION. 



The author of the following work is oiie of the most extensively-known 
evangelical ministers and writers on the Continent. Probably the name of 
no other individual is so intimately associated with the resuscitation of vital 
jreligion which is now going forward in Switzerland and France as his. 

Born of a respectable family in Geneva, which traces back its origin to the 
valleys of Piedmont — as he himself informs the reader in the preface to this 
work — ^he grew up in that city, pursued his studies in its celebrated academy, 
became a teacher in the lower classes of that academy, and was ordained 
as a minister of the Gospel at a very early age. During several years, how- 
ever, his mind was deeply imbued with the fatally erroneous views in theol- 
ogy which have long supplanted in the chairs of the academy, and in the most 
of the pulpits of that celebrated city, the glorious Gospel of the Apostles and 
of the Reformers. Possessing popular talents and a very handsome mien and 
person, he was quite a favorite as a preacher, and was often invited to oc- 
cupy the pulpits of the pastors, though he was not one of their number, nor a 
member of the " Venerable Company." 

But it pleased God, when he had arrived at about the age of twenty-five or 
six, to bring him to the knowledge of His dear Son. His conversion was re- 
markable, and was on this wise. 

While sitting one day in his school-room, waiting till his classes should be 
ready to recite their lessons, he took up a Bible that lay on his desk, and read 
the first chapters, if I remember rightly, of the Epistle to the Colossians. As 
lie proceeded, the evidence which that epistle furnishes of the proper divinity 
of Christ flashed upon his mind like lightning. He felt, in his inmost soul, the 
blow which annihilated all his former hopes, and caused him, like Saul of 
Tiirsus, to cry out, « Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" Days of deep 
distress ensued, till He whom he had rejected, if not persecuted in his mem- 
bers, was revealed in him " the hope glory." 

" Immediately he conferred not with flesh and blood," but resolved to pro- 
claim the glorious doctrine of the divinity of his Saviour. Great was the ex- 



n INTRODUCTION. 

citement in Geneva at his conversion. And he v^rho had often been invited 
by the pasffcrs to preach for them, wsls invited but once more. It was a few 
weeks after his conversion. On that occasion he proclaimed, in one of the 
largest churches in the city, the blessed doctrine of justification by faith. It 
was the last sermon which he ever preached in the National Church of either 
his native city or canton. ' 

This occurred in the year 1816 or 1817. Persecution followed. He was 
deprived of his office of regent, or teacher in the academy, and turned out of 
it for no other crime than that of holding and preaching the doctrines which 
Calvin, its great founder, had held and preached. Alas ! the name of that 
great man is of little account in his own academy, and still less in the gov- 
ernment of a city* which, had it not been for him, would probably have had 
little or none of the celebrity which it has enjoyed. 

Excluded from the academy and from the government churches, the only 
ones then in the city and canton, he went forth into one of the suburbs of 
Geneva, and, aided by the gifts of pious people in Switzerland, France, Ger- 
many, Holland, and England,f he purchased a piece of ground, on which he 
built a small chapel. Three years later, finding this place of worship too 
small, he built a larger one, a few rods distant from the former. There, in 
the midst of his own garden, he has for more than a quarter of a century 
preached Christ to a little congregation, many of which, in the summer season 
particularly, are English people who frequent that ancient and beautifully- 
situated city. 

But Dr. Malan has been more extensively known as an author than as a 
preacher. His various writings, in prose and poetry, if collected and printed 
in a uniform edition, would, I doubt not, make eight or ten octavo volumes. 
He is a sort of universal genius. He has written and published many excel- 
lent sermons ; a number of his historical sketches and tales are of surpassing: 
beauty ; he has written two or three volumes of sacred hymns and songs ; 
he has composed many pieces of very sweet music ; while his controversial 
publications are both numerous and able. Indeed, he is a veteran — he may 
even be called, though far from being a very old man, the Nestor of the evan- 
gelical Protestants of France and Switzerland, in the last-named species of 
writing. Many of the best tracts published by the London Religious Tract 
Society are the productions of his pen. 

The work which is here presented to the American reader is one of the 

* The city of Geneva a few years ago erected a bronze statue to the memory of Jean Jacques Rousseau ; 
all attempts to procure such an honor for Calvin were wholly unavailing. 

+ One of Dr. Malan's. earliest and most liberal benefactors was a Mrs. Horsley, a niece of the celebrated 
Bishop Horsley, of England. 



INTRODUCTION. iii 

best, on the subject of which it treats, that have appeared in the French lan- 
guage, and is honorably referred to by Count Agenor Gasparin in the admi-^ 
rable book which he has lately published in relation to the duties and rights 
of the Protestants of France.* And although the author of it is considered 
by some to be more of a Calvinist than Calvin himself was, I am not aware 
that there is any thing here to which any evangelical Protestant, be he of 
what denomination he may, would be likely to take exception. It is a work 
which God has greatly blessed to the opening of the eyes of Roman Catholics 
in France to the errors of the system of religion in which they had been edu- 
cated. That God would be pleased to make it accomplish a similar end in 
our own countiy, in its present English dress, is the earnest prayer of those 
who are concerned in its translation and in its presentation to the American 
public. As to the character of the translation, it does not become me to say 
much, for it has been made by one member of my family and revised by an- 
other. But I may be allowed to say, without impropriety, that it has been, I 
think, faithfully done. Aim has been constantly had to give the meaning of 
the author in pure, intelligible English ; without entirely sacrificmg, however, 
the vivacity of the original, and without lopping off every variety of expres- 
sion which may carry with it some slight but perspicuous Gallicism. f 

Such as it is, it is hoped that it may contribute something toward diffusing 
truth on a subject of a momentous nature, and on which the Protestants of our 
country cannot afford to be longer either ignorant or indifferent. 

R. Baird. 

New-YorTc, March, 1844. 

* Inter^ts Generaux du Protestantisme Fran^ais, par le Comte Agenor de Gasparin, Maitre des Requ^te^ 
et Membre de la Chambre des Deputes. Paris, 1843. 
t The work has also been carefully revised by my friend, the Rev. Edward Harris. 



PREFACE. 



Christian Reader, 
The inquiry presented in this volume is addressed to your conscientious 
judgment. Descended from the primitive Christians of these valleys, who, 
having kept the pure deposit of the Word of God since the apostolical ages of 
the Church, never recognized either the teaching or the authority of the " mys- 
tery" of Rome, and reckoning among my ancestors a martyr for the Bible, 
who chose to be buried alive rather than to acknowledge the Pope and his 
doctrines, the question here proposed was never seriously cherishea in my 
own mind, much less any inclination toward the ecclesiastical step to which 

it refers. 

But a theologian of the Romish Church has published the assertion that I 
am "led by the necessary consequences of my principles to embrace the Ro- 
man Catholic religion ;" and with great earnestness and gravity, he calls 
upon me, before God, and in the name of Truth and of Charity, "to recog- 
nize that church as my mother, and to cast myself with affection upon her bo- 
som." Although his arguments are not new, being those employed by Ro- 
manists for three centuries past, they are deemed by this writer as especially 
applicable to me, inasmuch as I have publicly taught and maintained the 

ETERNAL DIVINITY of thc Lord JcSUS.* 

The manner in which he proceeds in his reasonings on this point is as fol- 
lows : 

I. The Lord Jesus Christ, as God blessed eternally, and in his offices of 
supreme Teacher, Legislator, and Pastor, has estabhshed on earth one church, 
in which he has taught and enjoined, L Unity of beUef respecting certain 
doctrines which he has revealed to us. 2. One rule of faith common to all 
behevers. 3. That this rule of faith is infaUible. 4. The eternity of this unity 
and infallibility. 

II. These four characteristics of the true Church of Christ are found only 
in the Romish Church. 

III. Therefore Dr. Malan, as he recognizes Jesus Christ to be God and 
sovereign Teacher, Legislator, and Pastor in the church, must, to be con- 
sistent, recognize also the Church of Rome, which bears essentially these 
four divinely specified marks or characteristics. 

This conclusion is legitimately drawn from the premises, and is, I acknowl- 
edge, obligatory on me, provided it be true that the Romish Church does 
unite in herself these four characteristics of the true Church of Jesus, and 
does, indeed, thus obey the Son of God as God manifested in the flesh, as the 

♦ "Jesus Christ is the eternal God revealed in the flesh."— [F»w< Reply to the work of Prof. Cheneviere 
•against the God of Chriitians. Geneva, 1831.] 



iv PREFACE. 

sovereign Teacher, Legislator, and Pastor of the church. It is, therefore, 
necessary to examine duly the assertion which forms the lesser branch of 
the syllogism, and ascertain whether that church, in her present state, truly 
possesses the four distinctive marks here presented. In order to this, I must 
compare her character with the unchangeable Word of the Lord Jesus, as did 
the Jews in the city of Berea, to whose honor the Holy Spirit has recorded 
the fact that they " searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things (taught 
them by the Apostles) were so."* 

It is futile to assert that I have not the capacity to understand the Bible so 
as to make it a standard by which to test the character of the Romish Church, 
since the Bereans, whom I am about to imitate, were able to do so with re- 
gard to the doctrines of the Apostles ; especially as I shall quote its language 
with care and precision, and, when necessary, from the original, that the can- 
did reader may judge for himself whether these things are so. 

It is my design to make this examination as cursory as its nature will ad- 
mit, that the mind of the reader may not be fatigued with the subject, nor in- 
disposed to consult the more extended and learned treatises which have been 
published on this question. In pursuing the inquiry, I shall also avoid, as 
much as possible, all controversy with the work to which I have alluded, or 
its author, the simple truth being that alone which it is my object to discover 
for myself and to place before my readers. 

May the Lord Jesus assist me in this labor, and may his Spirit of light, of 
wisdom, and of strength, subdue and turn to his glory all our thoughts and 
feelings. 

C. Malan. 

Geneva, Le Pre-Bdni, January, 1840.t 

* Acts, xvii., 11. 

t The first edition of this work appeared in February, 1838, when the publication was issued to which it 
is an answer. 



INTRODUCTION. 



" The salvation of my soul," says a pious writer, " is a serious matter — the 
necessary, and only necessary, business of life ; for, unless it is secured, no 
thing can render me happy or safe ; and with the assurance of this, I can en- 
dure any privation ; for * what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole 
world and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his 
soul V "* I must, therefore, seek above every thing else the salvation of my 
soul, its endless enjoyment of God in heaven. But who shall guide me in the 
attainment of this object ? Shall I depend, in seeking it, on my own wisdom 
or virtue ? Alas ! by nature my strength is weakness, my wisdom folly. I 
am naught but ignorance and sin. The light that is in me is but darkness. 
Shall I depend on the guidance of my fellow-men ? And what are they but 
poor sinners, feeble, ignorant, and miserable as myself! What know they 
more than I, that I should rely on their direction ? 

It is to God, therefore, that my soul must address herself to learn the 
way to heaven. His voice has been heard by man, and his word is written. 
I will hear that which his mouth has spoken, and my heart will believe it ; his 
testimony is true, and in him there is no darkness at all. 

Jesus says, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto 
the Father but by me." In him is that life eternal which is the gift of God 
" God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoevei 
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This is the 
ground of my confidence. By the mercy granted unto me I have believed 
in the testimony of God. I believe, therefore, in Jesus Christ ; I adore him, 
and my soul submits to him* Thus I am a Christian ; that is to say, I know 
that I am "justified by faith;" that I have " peace with God ;" that I possess, 
at this very moment, eternal life ; that none shall pluck me from the hands 
of my Saviour ; and that his Spirit hath sealed me to the day of redemption. 

I also rejoice in the truth that He in whom I have believed " is able to keep 
that which I have committed to him against the day" of his appearing. Yet, 
notwithstanding this assurance, I recognize the truth that it is through the 
sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and holy living tlftit I am to be pre- 
served and guided by the power of God unto salvation, and am enabled to look 
forward with confident expectation to that everlasting rest which remaineth 
to his people, and on which they shall enter at death. It is more than twen- 
ty-two years since this precious faith and these glorious promises have been 
my constant portion. 

Now, amid the enjoyment of this hope, the assurance of this faith, I am 
told by men professing godliness, and told privately and publicly, that **I 

* Bourdaloue, Pensees, 



vi INTRODUCTION, 

am mistaken in my faith ; that the peace of which I speak is but a fatal 
security ; that my salvation is far otherwise than sure ; that it is in the Ro- 
mish Church, and there alone, that I can find it ; and that I should hasten to 
enter that church, that my soul may have rest, and escape from its delusion." 

In reply, I may say that it is a happy delusion indeed, which, in the assu- 
rance of the eternal love of God, teaches us to love him in return, to fear him, 
and to turn from evil. A happy delusion, I repeat, which renews and purifies 
the heart ; which shows it the deformity of sin, and the unspeakable beauty 
of Jesus ; and which, detaching the soul from the vanity of earth, leads it 
more and more decidedly toward heaven, and gives it more and more each 
day, as it were, a foretaste of its bliss. May such a delusion (since such my 
faith is called) become the portion of many souls and many families, as it is 
that of mine, that all may say, with me and my household, " The lines are 
fallen unto us in pleasant places ; yea, we have a goodly heritage." Espe- 
cially may God give it to all those who thus pity me ; and may the illusion 
(that is to say, the assurance) that the Holy Spirit produces in my soul be 
granted to them also, and still more abundantly. I can wish them no surer 
happiness as the evidence of my love for them. They profess to seek my 
welfare in their urgent solicitations to listen to their advice ; they assure me 
that, if I examine the character of the Romish Church without prejudice, I 
cannot fail to see my own error, and renounce it by returning to that church 
and to the company of the faithful. I cannot, then, but regard their appeal, 
both from respect to their professed charity, and to avoid the appearance of 
withdrawing from an examination which, if properly conducted in the fear 
of God, can only strengthen my faith. 

I will, therefore, comply with their request, and, omitting all allusion to 
what has been written in this controversy and to its authors, I will proceed 
to examine, as briefly as possible, whether the faith of the Romish Church is, 
as is stated, preferable to my own ; in other words, whether it is more con- ' 
sistent with the infallible Word of God. 

In pursuing this inquiry, I shall first present the principal articles of faith 
now held by the Church of Rome, and then compare them with the doctrines 
of the Bible, and, in the light of this comparison, endeavor conscientiously 
to decide the question, as I shall wish to have done in the great day of final 
account and judgment. 



PRINCIPAL POINTS OF DOCTRINE OP THE 
CHURCH OF ROME. 



It is interesting to look back upon the 
time when an inspired apostle could say to 
this ancient church, « I thank ray God 
through Jesus Christ for you all, that your 
faith is spoken of throughout the whole 
world."* At that time, all that pertained 
to her was in accordance with the mind 
of Christ. SimpUcity, separation from the 
world, fruitfulness in the gifts of the Spirit, 
charity, unity, kindness, forbearance, obe- 
dience to the Word, and many other vir- 
tues, formed her Christian character, shi- 
ning with increasing brightness, and the 
God of peace bruised Satan under her feet. 

At that time, says a modern historian 
(alluding to the history of the Church in 
the second century), " temples, altars, and 
statues were not used in Rome. Christi- 
anity thus near its source was marked 
by evangelical spirituahty, and had not be- 
come blended with those forms of material 
idolatry with which the first Christians re- 
proached Paganism, and which their suc- 
cessors have since adopted." " When one 
has read the work of Minutius Felix, and 
those of the fathers of the Church, or of 
other Christians who wrote before Con- 
stantino, or at the period of his reign, he 
is struck with the difference between in- 
fant Christianity and Christianity of the 
later ages ; and he is compelled to ex- 
claim, ' O quantum heu I mutatus ah illo V 
How great the change and the contrast !"t 
We also may exclaim in the language of 
the prophet, " How is the gold become 
dim ! how is the most fine gold changed !" 
That church which in olden times was 
scrupulously tenacious of the doctrines 
which had been taught her, has so blended 
her own inventions with the Oracles of 
God, that the latter are wholly discarded 
or silenced, and the world now witnesses 
within her pale, and placed side by side 
with those symbols of faith which the first 
martyrs sealed with their blood, doctrines 
and practices which they would have re- 
jected with horror. 

We ought, however, to distinguish be- 
tween the general, or catholic doctrines 
held by the Church of Rome, and those 
peculiarities which she has united with. 



♦ Rom., i., 8. 

t Diet. Univ. Hist. Critic, and Bibliogr., 1810, yoI. 
li., p. 561. 



and too often substitutes for, them. By 
the first, the Romish Church still retains 
her hold, at least in profession, on the uni- 
versal orthodox Church ; and in that she 
is catholic, as forming part of the universal 
Church of Jesus in all times and places. 
But by the second class of doctrines, which 
form her distinctive peculiarities, she sep- 
arates herself from the body of the Catholic 
Church ; and, so long as she retains them, 
from that spiritual union which, by the 
Word and Spirit, bound together, in the 
first ages, the flourishing churches of An- 
tioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Car- 
thage, Rome, Spain, and the Gauls, and 
which in our days unites and makes per- 
fect in one, according to the promise of 
the Saviour, all churches which adhere to 
the doctrines and practices of the Scrip- 
tures and of the apostles. 

The Archbishop of Lyons, in the ninth 
century, recognized this distinction be- 
tween the primitive and modern Church 
of Rome ;* and it is from this twofold 
character in her doctrines that the fact is 
to be explained, that in the same church 
have been found those who, like Pascal, 
sincerely submitted themselves unto "the 
righteousness of God which is by faith in 
Jesus Christ," as well as those who are 
strangers alike to the grace of God and 
the knowledge of His truth, and are influ- 
enced entirely in their rehgious profession 
and desires by worldly motives and the 
objects of sense. Yet this latter class, 
and even men of enlightened minds, per- 
suade themselves that there is no differ- 
ence between the faith which the Romish 
Church professes in her Athanasian or 
Nicene and Apostles' Creeds, and those 
doctrines and commandments of men, 
which she has multiplied and added to 
them, and which I am about to specify and 
examine ; although the contrast is as great 
as that between the glimmerings of an ex- 
piring taper and the noonday sun. Among 
the generality of the members of that 
church, even the best educated seem 
scarcely to think of examining the nature 
and foundation of their faith; while the 
common people appear satisfied with the 
rehearsal of their belief as stated in the 



* Neotericos Romanes et antiques (Oper., part i., 
p. 119). Spanheim, Elenchus, p. 37 



POINTS OF DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ROME. 



tibridgment of their catechism : " I believe 
in my pastor (or curate), because he teach- 
es the doctrine of the whole church, for he 
teaches me that of our bishop, who holds 
communion with the pope and the whole 
church !"* Without judging such persons, 
I can not but pity them, and would point 
them to the Word of God as their only safe 
guide and authority in matters of faith. 
By this test I am willing to try my own 
belief, and on its decisions to rely ; and by 
this I now proceed to examine those ten- 
ets of the Romish faith which that church 
has superadded to the doctrines which 
were once committed to her, and which 
she arrogantly asserts must be held and 
professed, on the penalty of eternal perdi- 
tion.f 

In the examination of this subject, I will 
arrange my remarks under the following 
general topics, relating to the revelation, 
the administration, and the personal posses- 



* Abridgment of the Catechism for Young People 
preparing for the first Communion. Geneva, 1832, 
p. 71. 

t Bulla Pii IV. De forma juram prof. fidei. Hanc 
veram fidem, etc. 



sion of the grace of God, which brings sal- 
vation : or, I. The Holy Scriptures. II. 
The institution of the visible Church. III. 
Experimental and practical piety. And in 
the investigation of this subject I shall ap- 
peal to the priests, the prelates, the histo- 
rians, the councils, and the popes of the 
Romish Church, as authority for the state- 
ments vi^hich I shall present.* 



♦ The various quotations made in this work have 
been drawn either from the sources themselves, or 
from former publications, of which these are the prin- 
cipal, which usually are marked only by initial letters : 

Willet, Synopsis Papismi, 1600 (S. ?.)• Sharpius, 
Cursus Theologicus, 1618 (C. T.). Basnage, History 
of the Church, 1699 (Basn.)- Pictet, Christian Theol- 
ogy, 1721 (T. C). Finch, A Sketch of the Romish 
Controversy, 1831 (R. C). Faber, The Difficulties 
of Romanism, 1830 (D. R.). Edgar, The Variations 
of Popery, 1838 (V. P.). Gille de Gaillard, The 
Evangelical Proselyte, 1643 (P. E.)- Spiritual Arsenal, 
1829 (A. S.)- Townsend, Accusations of History 
against the Church of Rome, 1826 (A. H.). Essays on 
Romanism, 1839 (E. R.)- 

The reader will be so kind as to remark, also, that 
when Protestant works are quoted, it is not the 
opinions of the authors that are brought forward, 
but only the facts cited, or the testimony of the fa- 
thers or doctors which they themselves have drawn 
from the originala. 



AN I N a U I E f, & c. 



PART I. 

THE REVELATION OF GRACE, OR THE HOLY 
SCRIPTURES. 

In commencing my inquiry, 1 take the 
Sacred Volume, which contains the record 
of infinite love, or the revelation of the v^^ay 
of eternal life to them that love God, and 
turning to the Church of Rome, I ask, 

" Since this book is the Word of God, 
and the infallible voice of Truth, will you 
have the goodness to — " 

" The Word of God !" exclaims a priest, 
with a look and a gesture of contempt ; 
" who told you that it is the W^ord of God 1 
Please give us your authority for this as- 
sertion." 



CHAPTER I. 

THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

In reply to this demand, I might adduce 
the arguments usually brought forward on 
this subject, and show, by historical evi- 
dence, that the Scriptures of the Old and 
New Testaments were written by the per- 
sons to whom they are ascribed ; that their 
character and integrity are unimpeachable ; 
and that the miracles and prophecies per- 
formed and uttered by them prove conclu- 
sively that they spake and wrote as they 
were moved by the Holy Ghost. 

I might next present the internal evidence, 
and show from the volume itself, that it 
bears the marks of Jehovah's attributes as 
manifestly as do the works of His visible 
creation ; in its gracious adaptedness to the 
moral and spiritual exigences of man ; in 
its exhibitions of the divine attributes ; in 
its portraiture of the human heart ; in its 
faithful development of Jehovah's law ; 
and in the loveliness of its descriptions 
of the way of life and salvation ; its 
threatenings, its promises, its precepts, all 
evince that the same Spirit which search- 
eth the deep things of God, and trieth 
the reins and the heart, indited the. Bible. 
Again, I might appeal to its effects on the 
understanding and the heart, which it re- 
news, enlightens, humbles, rejoices, sancti- 
fies, and consoles, leaving the tokens there 
of the presence and influence of the same 
Holy Spirit. 

But such reasoning would receive no 
attention, and, therefore, I will reply to the 
question in a more simple way, by emplov- 
B 



ing the answer given by a mountaineer to 
the same inquiry. 

" I cannot," he said, " reply like a learned 
man, as I am but a collier; but I will sim- 
ply tell you what gives me the assurance 
that my beloved Bible is from God. First, 
because it has existed a long time, and 
does not change, notwithstanding, Mr. Cu- 
rate, that so many people hate it, and 
wage war against it. Besides, those who 
wrote it in ancient times, and who have 
since printed and sent it all over the world, 
must have been moved to do so either by 
God or by the devil. But surely it was 
not by the devil, sir, since on each page 
the Bible judges, condemns, and gives him 
the lie. It is, then, evident that it was done 
by God, and, consequently, only the devil, 
and those who obey him, refuse to believe 
in it, or are ai variance with it." 

" Idle prating !" the Romish Church re- 
plies ; " the Bible has been intrusted to me ; 
/ give it its authority ; and no one can know 
that it is the Word of God, except so far as I, 
the infaUible Church, may have declared 
it."* 

The Bible intrusted to the Church of 
Rome! Then, if this be so, we are to be- 
lieve that the extensive churches of the Ar- 
menians, Nestorians, Jacobites, or Greeks, 
the multitudes of Christians of Syria ; the 
widely-spread churches of St. Thomas ; of 
Eastern Europe ; of the North of Africa, 
and the ancient Picards, Lollards, Hussites, 
Albigenses, and Waldenses (all of whom 
received from the apostles themselves, and 
have kept, without intermission, since the 
apostolical times, that Book of their faith, 
either in the original languages or in their 
own dialect), have not, and never did pos- 
sess, the Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testaments ! ! For assuredly, it was not 
the Church governed by the pope thaK 
transmitted this Book to them; a Church 
rejected by them all from the moment that 
she was constituted ; against which ihey 
have always protested ; and which, every 
year, each of them excommunicates by the 
very words of that ancient Book ! Have all 
these churches, then, a false revelation 1 
Is this what Rome aflirms, and would have 
us believe 1 

More than this : if I understand il^^"^ 



* Cone. Tiid., Scss. iv. Eckins, De^."''- ^^^!f-^-^ 
re?p. 3. Pighius. Assert ch hkr. ecc};^^V- "• Bellar- 
rnin, De Verio Dei, iii., 10 ; iv.. ^- Costerus, hnchtr 
1 et 3. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED 



10 

sertion, it follows that God himself cannot | 
speak directly to his creatures, nor com- 
municate himself by his Spirit and his 
Word to my intelligence or to my heart, 
until a society of men consent to it ! The 
Church of Rome placed above the Scrip- 
tures ! 

" Certainly," it will be said, " the Church 
is older than the Scriptures, for the Scrip- 
tures were made for the Church ; which is 
their ruler and interpreter, and which is 
independent of any written paper or parch- 
ment, which has no credit except that giv- 
en to it by the Church." 

Many cardinals and bishops teach that 
" the Scriptures can no more certify to us 
that they are from God, than the Koran 
can ; for they are but a dead letter ; a soul- 
less body ; a dumb witness ; a deaf or stu- 
pid judge ; a sword for all hands ; a cloud 
of obscurity ; a forest where even Atheists 
can intrench themselves ; a compilation 
which has no more value and authority 
than the history of Titus Livius or the fa- 
bles of JEsop."* 

In such arrogant pretensions and asser- 
tions, and intolerant domination in mat- 
ters of faith, we see nothing but neglect 
and contempt toward the Spirit of God him- 
self. 

CONTRARIETY OF OPINION ON THIS SUBJECT. 

The reader, however, must not suppose, 
that while the Romish Church boasts of 
her unit^J of doctrine., she is always uniform 
or consistent in agreement. Her self-con- 
tradictions appear as numerous as her de- 
crees, when compared with the different 
documents of history. We will present 
some of them which are too palpable to be 
denied.f 

And, first, the Fathers of the Church, her 
boasted reliance and foundation, refuse her 
their support. 

The reader must not suppose, from my 
reference to the Fathers, that I consider 
their opinions as of any authority in mat- 
ters of faith, or as deserving implicit con- 
fidence. All that they have taught in ac- 
cordance with the Gospel, they have de- 
rived from the Scriptures ; but their nu- 
merous and gross errors in sentiment make 
it necessary that their writings should be 
weighed in the balance of inspired truth, 
in order to ascertain the soundness of their 



* Bellarm., De Verba Dei non scripto, lib. iv., c. 4. 
Salmer., Prol. () Nunc de, etc. Card. Hosius, legate of 
Pius IV. at the I'onc. of Trent. Eckius. Pighius, 
Hier. EccL, lib. iii., c. 3. Coterus, Ench. 1 and 3. 
Serarius, Prol. 10, beet. 3. Charron, Ver., iii., 1 and 8. 
Lindanus Panopl, .-. 7 (Sharp., 54, Prosel. Evang.). 
Stapleton, De auth. script., ii. Greg, of Valentia, lib. 
1^'' Ual., c. 2. 

' ^*?, following nuy be consulted with advan- 
tage : i>a^ 2//^^p ^ o/ the Church. Renoult, 
Ht^t. of the Vh-..,;^^^ ^j ij^c Gallican Church. Edgar, 
Variations of Paper,, , ■, 8,8. Faber, Difficulties of Ro- 
viamsm, 1830. Townsvnfi, Accusation of History 
against the Church of Rome, l£C>o. 



doctrines. " For," says St. Augustine, 
" we regard not the teachings of the doc- 
tors equally with the canonical Scriptures, 
whatever be their reputation; but deem 
it right and proper to reject all that their 
writings contain which is inconsistent with 
truth, as in the case of any other human 
production, the Scriptures alone being the 
standard of faith and doctrine."* 

When I quote them, therefore, in the 
course of my investigation, I give no assent 
to the sentiment of the Romish Church.f 
that the Scriptures ought to be interpreted 
by the Fathers ; but design merely to show 
that, so far as they adhere to the Bible, 
their teachings give no sanction whatever 
to the present tenets of that church, but, 
as it were, condemn them beforehand. I 
shall, however, quote them but sparingly, 
making the Bible predominant ; according 
to the saying of Tertullian, " That which 
was primitive is the truth ; and that alone 
is truly catholic. Error is of later origin."| 

In the first century, then, Clement of Al- 
exandria declares that "the Holy Scrip- 
tures are a light and a truth which engrave 
on the heart that which cannot be written." 
In the third century, Cyprian remarks that 
" the W^ord of God illumines with its own 
light the soul that is blind and spiritually 
dead." In the fourth century, Athanasius 
asserts that " the oracles of God are suf- 
ficient for the revelation of truth." Am- 
brose, bishop of Milan, exhorts "to be- 
lieve, but not to sit in judgment on divine 
matters ; and to drink from the two cups 
of the Old and New Testaments." " Ev- 
ery upright heart," says Augustine, " may 
know the eternal law of God ; but it is 
forbidden him to judge it. Truth vivifies ; 
the aim of all Scripture is, the soul. Should 
Moses speak to me," he adds, " in Hebrew, 
1 would indeed hear the words, but I would 
not understand them ; and should he do 
so in Latin, I might, indeed, comprehend his 
language, but whence should 1 know that 
what he says is Truth ? Would it not be 
in the heart that this very truth, which is 
neither Hebrew, nor Greek, rtor Latin, and 
which expresses itself without words, would 
make itself known to me, and convince me 
that what Moses said is true V " No, it is 
not human wisdom," adds Chrysostom, " it 
is the very revelation of God himself that 
Scripture requires to make it understood ;" 
and Salvicz declares, with his usual elo- 
quence, that " while the words of men 
need evidence, the Word of God testifies 
for itself; for it must be, that what incor- 
ruptible truth affirms, is itself the incor- 
ruptible testimony of that truth. "^ 

* August., Can. Relatum, dist. 37. Can. Ncqne, dist. 
9. Can. Noli meisy dist. 9. 

t Concil. Trid., sess. iv. 

i TertuU., Adv. Prax, $ 1. Vine. Lerin., Com- 
ment., lib. i., 3. 

^ Clem, of Alex., Strom., lib. i. Cypr., De Orat. 



APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 



11 



Thus speak the Fathers ; and no less pos- 
itively do even the doctors of the Church 
of Rome contradict their ovrn church. 
Melchior Caiius, Stapleton, and Gregory of 
Valentia, hold the same language.* " The 
Catholic truths," says the celebrated Friar 
Biel, " are of their owrn nature unchange- 
able in truth, without any approbation of the 
Church.''^ The learned Jesuit Canisius ut- 
ters the following words, which redound 
to the glory of God : " As for us, we be- 
lieve Scripture, we cling to it, and we at- 
tribute all authority to it, because of the 
testimony of the Holy Spirit speaking 
through it." 

Bellarmine, by an inconsistency to which 
the truth has in a manner forced him, thus 
expresses himself in one of his sermons : 
" Who was it who persuaded St. Paul in a 
moment to believe that of which neither 
the Word nor miracles had before been 
able to convince him 1 Certainly ,.we ought 
not to seek any other cause than the Holy 
Spirit. This was for St. Paul the testi- 
mony and the teacher by whom he was 
instructed in the truth. St. John has said 
of it, ' He that believeth on the Son of 
God hath the witness in himself.' " Thom- 
as Aquinas declares, that the authority of 
the Holy Scriptures is necessary, while 
that of other teaching is not indispensa- 
ble ; and, lastly, to crown the argument. 
Pope Innocent HI. asserts that " the judg- 
ment of God is always founded on the 
truth, while the judgment of the Church 
sometimes follows opinions, which are oft- 
en erroneous."! 

I regard such testimony as sound and 
credible, because it accords with the claims 
of the Word of God itself, which is de- 
clared to be " quick and powerful, and 
sharper than any two-edged sword, pier- 
cing even to the dividing asunder of the 
soul and spirit ;" that it is a light, and " like 
as a fire, and like a hammer that breaketh 
the rock in pieces ;" a refreshing water, a 
restoring perfume, a strengthening wine, 
an excellent honey that the taste relishes, 
and that it is by it that the 'Spirit of the 
Father renews the soul, vivifies and teach- 
es it. I 

When did the Prophets, or the Lord Je- 
sus Christ, or the Apostles, announce the 
Word of God as if they had need, as St. 
Paul says, of "epistles of commenda- 
tion'?"'^ The same power that cleft the 
waters of the Red Sea, that made water 
gush forth from the rock of Horeb, that 



dominica. Athan., Orat. cont. gent. Ambr., De Fide, 
i., 5. Chrysosl., Homily 21s«, on Genesis. August., 
Contra Faust., ii., 5. Confes., lib. iii., c. 3 (T. C.)- 
Salv., De Provid., lii. (Sharp., 62). 

* Th. Chr., 1., p. 92. 

t Biel, Mag. Sent., iii., 25. Canisius, Catech. de 
PrcBcept. EccL, 16 (Sharp., p. 63). Th. Chr., p. 101. 

t Hebr., iv , 12. Ps. xix., 6, 7, 9 ; cxix., 130. Jereir.., 
xxiii., 29. James, i., 18. Peter, i., 23. John, vi., 45 ; 
xvii., 17, etc. ^ 2 Cor., iii., 1. 



calmed the tempests, that restored health 
to the sick, that gave sight to the blind, 
hearing to the deaf, and life to the dead, 
without either the aid or approbation of 
the priests, or the Synagogue, has always 
had, and will continue to have, efficacy in 
quickening the soul, in touching the hearts 
of men, in revealing Jesus to them, and in. 
filling them with peace and joy. Yes, it 
is that same Spirit which, in the beginning 
of the world, " made the light to shine out 
of darkness," that shines in the heart, to 
" give the light of the knowledge of the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."* 

By what secret operation, and by what 
authority, is the peasant who reads the 
Bible, or the savage w^ho hears it read or 
preached, affected and changed in his 
whole being, and made an entirely new 
man ] Is it because the Council of Trent, 
the Romish Church, has informed them, 
and given its attestation that the book 
they read or hear is of God, and that they 
must be touched by it ; or is it because it 
acts upon these souls as it did upon the 
seller of purple, Lydia, " whose heart the 
Lord opened, that she attended unto the 
things which were spoken of Paul V'j It is 
because the Father draweth them unto the 
Son, because he revealeth Him unto them, 
and because the Word that proceedeth 
from his mouth prospers according to His 
good pleasure, and makes the soul whom 
he predestinated and called, come to Him in 
the day of his power. 

I remain, therefore, firm in the belief that 
" the authority of the Holy Scriptures ex- 
ists in themselves, by the Holy Spirit, and 
not by the authority of the Church ; and 
that, when the Apostle Paul said to the 
Corinthians, "/ speak as unto wise men; 
judge ye what I say,''"' he exhorted them to 
do that which the Saviour had directed; 
that which the Bereans did ; and which 
the godly man does, when he meditates in 
the law of the Lord day and night. And 
he that obeys the exhortation knows ex- 
perimentally that the Word of God "is 
pure, enlightening the eyes," and that it is 
" a discerner of the thoughts and intents 
of the heart. "t 

CHAPTER II. 

THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 

Concerning the rule of faith, the Church 
of Rome further declares, that the Apoc- 
ryphal books of the Old Testament are 
divinely inspired, and as such must be re- 
ceived and acknowledged on penalty of 
her anathema ; that is, her curse.^ 



* 2 Cor., iv., 6. 

t Acts., xvi., 14. See Semailles Evangeliques, p. 10. 

i 1 Cor.,x., 15. Acts, xvii., 11. John, v., 39. Ps. 
i., 2 ; xix., 9. Heb., iv., 12. 

^ Concil. Trid., sess. iv. Bellarm., De Verba Dei, 
i., 7, 8, 9, etc. 



12 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



Thus I am to be accursed forever if I 
do not admit as divine, books which I can- 
not hold to be inspired without violating 
all regard to truth, wisdom, and the law 
of God! The Apocrypha, in several of 
its parts, contains historical facts and mor- 
al sentiments, which, viewed merely as the 
writings of men, and subject to my own 
judgment, I can appreciate and adopt so 
far as they accord with truth. 'I'his is 
one thing. But it is a very different thing 
to make these books the rule of my faith, 
and, instead of judging them, to be judged 
by them. And it is hard, indeed, that for 
the exercise of my judgment in rejecting 
these writings of men as a rule of faith, I 
must myself be rejected, declared accursed, 
and excommunicated ! 

CONTRARIETY OF TESTIMONY. 

But on this point, as before, I appeal for 
the decision of the question to the Lord 
Jesus Christ, to the Fathers, and to the 
ancient doctors of the Church of Rome 
herself. 

The Saviour determines it when, in the 
exposition of the Scriptures which he inade 
to the two disciples who were going to 
Kmmaus ; and in the catalogue of the sa- 
cred books which he afterward repeats 
" to the eleven and those who were with 
them," he mentions none but the Law, the 
Prophets, and the Psalms, which are the 
three divisions of the holy volume recog- 
nized in his day by the Church, and in 
which the Jewish historian, Josephus, in- 
cluded all the Old Testament.* 

The Fathers, unanimous in their testi- 
mony, repeat what the Lord said. 

Melito, bishop of Sardis, who had visited 
all the churches of the East, states that 
not one of them received the Apocryphal 
books. Origen, Hilary, Athanasius, Cyril 
of Jerusalem, Epiphanius, Gregory Nazi- 
anzen, Jerome, and many other bishops 
and doctors, repudiated the Apocrj^phal 
books with one accord. Jerome especial- 
ly, a man of learning and of science, who, 
in the fourth century, journeyed into Pal- 
estine for the purpose of studying Hebrew, 
says expressly, " We have not known the 
economy of our salvation by any others 
than by those who first preached the Gos- 
pel, and who afterward put it into writing, 
so that it might be the pillar and founda- 
tion of our faith." He then names all the 
books of this economy, as well of the Old 
as of the New Testament, but he makes 
no mention of the A-pocryphal books. f Nei- 
ther does the Council of Laodicea admit 
them ; and such was the voice of the whole 
Church. J In Africa, Augustine tell us that 



* Luke, xxiv., 27, 44. Joseph., Com. Apion., lib. 
i., c. viii. 

t Home's Introd. to the Crit. Study of the Script., 
1821, vol. 1., p. 708. Hier., Adv. heres., lib. iii. 

t Cone. Laodic, 59, c. Quoniam, dist. 16, held in 



they were read only as inferior books, and 
without authority. 

As for the Romish Doctors^ two cardi- 
nals, Cajetan and Ximenes, together with 
all the doctors of Alcada, Thomas Aquinas, 
Nicolas of Lyra, Pagninus, and many oth- 
ers, exclude them from the Bible, which 
they had printed or commented upon ; and, 
finally, a pope says that " he thinks he was 
not. wrong in quoting the Book of Macca- 
bees, though it be not canonical, but only 
written for the edification of the Church."* 

This is the testimony of the Fathers and 
doctors, and even of a general council. 
And they are right. For how can books 
which the Jewish Church, to whom the 
oracles of God were intrusted, never rec- 
ognized,! and which were written in a dif- 
ferent language from that in which the 
Holy Scriptures were written, after the 
prophetical time, when the Precursor was 
already announced ;% books which neither 
the Lord Jesus nor the apostles name on 
any occasion, although they make about 
six hundred quotations from the Old Testa- 
ment ; books, above all, in which are found 
falsehood, opposition to the books of Mo- 
ses, sorcery, praise of suicide, ridiculous 
fables, and various contradictions ;^ how 
can such books be held as divine, and ra- 
tionally looked upon as the language of 
the Spirit of truth, of wisdom, and of holi- 
ness ; yea, the very Word of God ^ 

Then let the anathema of Rome rest 
upon me, since, to avoid it, I should attrib- 
ute to the Eternal God himself writings 
which, in many respects, poor sinner as I 
am, I should blush to have composed ! 

Truly, in this case, my condition is more 
deplorable than that of an Athanasius, a 
Cyril, an Epiphanius, or a Jerome ; since, 
though the Council of Trent has cursed 
them, as well as me, for our mutual refu- 
sal to believe in the Apocryphas, the Ro- 
mish Church has, notwithstanding, canon- 
ized them, and honors and invokes them 
as saints who protect her ; while I, poor 
rebel ! when once / am excommunicated 
by her, can expect nothing but her hatred, 
and, if she had the power, her vengeance 
also. But my conscience is so imperious 
that this anathema appears to me a favor. 

Beware ! cries a pope, for know that 
"to disown excommunication as less ter- 
rible than sin, is falsehood and heresy."|| 

Well, then ! let me be reputed a liar or 
a heretic, so long as the truth of God re- 
mains unblemished and unmixed. 



364. It was approved by the universal Council of 
Constantinople. 

* Caj., Comm. in Hist. V. T., in fine, Reliqui libri, 
etc. Gregory 1., Moral, in Job, i., 19, c. xiii. Poole, 
A. Dial, p. 60. 

t Rom., iii., 2. Joseph., Cont. Apion., i., viii. 
Euseb., Eccl. Hist., iii., 9, 10. Bellarm., De Verba 
Dei, i., 10. t Malach., ii., 20. , 

^ 2 Mace, ii., 20 ; xiv., 37 ; xv., 38, 39. Ecclesiast, 
Prologue. Judith, ix., 2, 3. Tobit, viii., 3, 4, &c. 

II Clem, XL, Const. Unigen. 



TRADITION. 



13 



CHAPTER III. 

TRADITION. 

I would invite the attention of the read- 
er, farther, to the doctrine of the Church 
of Rome on another point. 

" Scripture is insufficient," she declares, 
" and, independently of the books which 
the men of God have written, Jesus Christ 
and his apostles have verbally intrusted 
the Church with a peculiar revelation, call- 
ed the Apostolical Traditions, which are 
found deposited in the sentiments of the 
Fathers, in the decrees of councils, in the 
teachings of the popes, and in the very 
customs of the Church. For the Holy Scrip- 
tures were not given as the rule of our 
faith, but simply as a part of that rule ; 
and tradition, whose authority is always 
equal to that of Sacred Scripture, and, in 
in some cases, superior to it, makes up 
for its obscurity, determines and fixes its 
meaning, and also confirms its divinity."* 
" Wo, therefore, to him who will not re- 
ceive with faith the revelations transmit- 
ted to us by tradition, and which are the 
-sword that destroys the presumptuous 
whom the Scripture cannot convince, or 
the heretic who, clinging to Scripture as 
to a rock, audaciously affirms that every 
thing is contained there ; as if Jesus Christ 
himself had not forhidden the apostles to 
put the whole doctrine in writing when he 
commands them not to cast holy things 
unto dogs ; and as if the power of the 
Church and of the pope, equal, at least, to 
that of the apostles, could not change its 
symbols, or add unto them, as it finds it 
necessary or convenient."! 

The oracles of God insufficient ! Rev- 
elation obscure ; and for that reason sub- 
mitted to uncertain traditions ! The Church 
of Rome exercising lordship over even the 
doctrines and articles of the faith ! . . . . 
Are not these blasphemies ? But let us 
•discuss the matter ; for if the Romish 
Church possesses rights, they ought to be 
recognized. 

First, then, I inquire where that tradi- 
tion is, that I may respect it, if it be from 
God. 

" The Church of Rome knows and es- 
tablishes it," I am answered : " listen to the 
Church." 

But I repeat the question, and ask where 
the Romish Church finds it 1 for I inquire 
with the Carmelite, Mafinier, speaking to 
the Council of Trent, " If God has forbid- 
den the prophets and apostles to write all 
revelation, which it would be impossible 
to prove, who, since the apostles, has been 



* Bellarm., De Verba Dei, lib. ii., 15 ; iii., 3 ; Iv., 3, 
4,7, 11. Concil. Trid., sess. iv. Index lib. proh., reg. 
iv. Downside Discus., 1836. The Rule of Faith. 
Greg. Val., Anal, lib. iv., c. ii. (P. E.). 

t Salmer., torn, xiii., p. iii., 3, 6 (P. E.). Coster. 
Jes. Enchir., Proefat. Ibid., De Sacr. Script. Vas- 
-quez, t. iii. Disp., 216, 60. 



so presumptuous as to put in writing that 
which the men of God were thus required 
to reverence V* 

But they are silent on this subject; or 
else repeat, " Listen to the Church ; tra- 
dition has been intrusted to her." 

But when] I ask; for I see that she 
makes no mention of it in the first centu- 
ries, when she resisted the Pagans ; and 
the Pagans never made allusion to aught 
but the Holy Scriptures. Where was tra- 
dition then, when neither party thought of 
adducing it T 

They reply by asking, " What could we 
have done without it ] Was it not neces- 
sary to supply that which the Sacred Scrip- 
tures do not contain ^ Will the sinner find 
the road to heaven with a feeble and insuf- 
ficient light for his steps ?"f 

According to this, the faithful, who, from 
the law down to the coming of the Saviour, 
had nothing but the written books of Moses 
and the prophets, walked in darkness, and 
have all followed a false path, nor found the 
road to heaven ! Then, too, Moses and all the 
prophets deceived the Church, when they 
told her that God's Word is pure, and like 
unto silver seven times refined ; that it is 
perfect ; that there is an end of all perfec- 
tion, but that the commandment of God is 
of great extent ; that the statutes of the 
Lord enlighten the soul; that they gi^e it 
prudence, and vivify and console it ; that 
the man who keeps them will have his 
recompense ; that he that speaketh not ac- 
cording to the testimony of God hath no 
light ; that even the wise have been con- 
founded because they rejected the Word 
of God, but he. that findeth His words find- 
eth life and keepeth them in his heart. 
Those believers, also, who had indeed re- 
ceived the Word of God, and nothing but 
that Word, deceived themselves, and were 
in the most fatal delusion, when they re- 
joiced in their holy faith, and gave thanks 
unto God, with hymns and hallelujahs, for 
that light that shone upon their path, for 
that spiritual life which filled their souls, 
for that divine love that burned in their 
hearts, for their daily brightening assu- 
rances of the glory of heaven. And, more 
than all, the Lord Jesus and his apostles 
were not on the road to heaven, or they 
did not point it out with certainty to the 
Church ; for, appealing to nothing but that 
which was " written,'' they referred only 
to the words of the Bible, and quoted only 
the Holy Scriptures. 

Was it, then, because the Old Testament 
was insufficient, that the Lord repulsed Sa- 
tan by simply saying unto him, " It is 
written V — that He answered the priests 
and the scribes, " Did ye never read in the 
Scriptures ]" — that He stopped the mouths 



* Fra Paolo, liv. ii., sess. iii. 

t Bellarmine, De Verba Dei nan Scripto, lib. iv., c. 
iv., 7, 11, 



14 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



of the Sadducees with the ivritings of Mo- 
ses ■? — that He represented Abraham as 
saying, concerning the brethren of the 
rich man, " They liave Moses and the 
Prophets ; let them hear them ?"— and that, 
when he wished to dispel the error of two 
of his disciples, he recalled the Scripture 
to their minds \* Where, then, is Tradi- 
tion ? Where shall we fix it, when Luke 
and Peter think it proper and convenient 
to write the things which they have trans- 
mitted to the Church ; when Paul disputes 
with the Jews out of the Scriptures ; when 
he declares even an angel to be anathema, 
should he add any thing to what he had 
said ; when, before Felix and Agrippa, he 
mentions only the Law and the Prophets ; 
when the Bereans examined naught but 
the Scriptures, to judge of the doctrines of 
that apostle ; and when Apollos, to con- 
vince the Jews publicly, employs those 
same Scriptures, and finds in them invin- 
cible power ?t 

If, therefore, as you say, the Scriptures 
are insufficient — if they are but a portion 
of the revelation of God, and but one of 
the parts of the rule of faith established 
by the prophets, the Saviour, and the apos- 
tles — how rashly has one of these apostles 
exposed himself, by saying that " the truths 
written are such that believing them, we 
may have life ;" that " the Holy Scrip- 
tures are able to make us wise unto sal- 
vation through faith which is in Christ 
Jesus ;" and again, that " Scripture ren- 
ders the man of God perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto every good work "?"! 

Let the Church of Rome, then, show how 
any degree of revelation, science, faith, 
wisdom, or salvation, added to the Scrip- 
tures, which she declares to be incomplete, 
can render men more than perfect — can 
make them more than accomplish their 
design. 

CONTRARIETY OF TESTIMONY ON THIS POINT. 

The reader will observe, however, that, 
notwithstanding the avowal of this strange 
and incoherent system, the Church of 
Rome herself employs nothing but the Bi- 
ble in her missions and controversies 
among the Jews and Mohammedans, thus 
virtually admitting its authority and suffi- 
ciency. 

" But," says one of her ancient offspring, 
" this proves merely that when the Romish 
Church addresses herself to infidels, she 
defends the foundations of Christianity, 
which are contained in the Scriptures ; 
but when she attacks the Reformation, she 



* Matth., iv., 4, 7, 10; xxi., 15, 16, 42; xxiv., 
25-27. 

t Luke, i.,3. 2 Peter, i., 13, 15 ; ii., 1. Acts, xvii., 
1-3, 11, 13. Gal., i., 8, 9. Acts, xxiv., 14 ; xvi., 22 ; 
xviii., 28. 

X John, XX., 30, 31. 2 Tim., iii., 14-17. 



must uphold the foundations of Poperyj, 
which the Scriptures cannot sustain."* 

Very well ; we may be satisfied, then, 
with the testimony of the Fathers, all of 
whom, whether Greek or Latin, are unan- 
imous on this subject, and with unusual 
force maintain that we cannot add either 
books or traditions to Scripture, and that 
by the Scriptures alone the Church of 
Christ is both constituted and recognized. 

" The Scriptures are perfect," says Ire- 
naeus, " for they are the words of God, 
dictated by His Spirit, and they are the 
apostolical tradition, manifested unto the 
whole world, and which, in the Church, ad- 
dresses itself clearly to all who will hear 
the truth."t 

" I reverence the plenitude of the Scrip- 
tures," writes Tertullian, " and I admit no- 
thing without their testimony. Let him, 
therefore, who produces any other stand- 
ard of faith than the written Word, fear 
the curse pronounced against the man who 
adds unto the Scriptures ;" " for not to 
know any thing besides it," says Theophy- 
lact, "is to know all things. "J 

" The prudent man," says Clement of 
Alexandria, " will use Scripture alone to 
refute those w^ho dogmatize against it."§ 

" Whence comes this pretended tradi- 
tion V exclaims Cyprian ; " God declares 
that we must do that ivhich is written.'"' \\ 

" What a diabolical thought," Theophilus 
of Alexandria writes, "to imagine that 
there is any Divine instruction besides the 
Holy and sovereign Scriptures !"^ 

" Cease," adds Athanasius,^'' expounding 
to us that which is not written. The books 
of God suffice for the acquiring of all 
truth. They alone form the school of pie- 
ty ; and we will neither hear nor quote 
any thing not contained in them."** 

" It is publicly denying the faith ; it is a 
criminal arrogance," says Basil, " to add 
to Scripture that which is not loritten; for 
it contains the all-sufficient teaching of the 
Holy Spirit."tt 

" It is the oracles of God," Chrysostom 
preaches, " that we produce as the true rule 
of the true faith and of all truth ; and they 
suffice against all those who oppose the 
instruction of the Holy Spirit. "IJ 

" In the Word of God, moreover," says 
Cyril of Alexandria, " we find sufficient 
nourishment for our souls ; and we need 
no other instruction. "•^'^ 

" Should you lUsh to make clear," says 



* Gilles de Gaillard, Le Prosil. dvang., p. 150. 

t Iren., Adv. heres., iii., c. i., 3, 47. 

i Tertul., Coiit. Herm., ^ 12; De Pmscrip., \m., 
xiv. Theophyl., In epist. ad Gal, c. i. 

($» Clem. Ai., Strom., 1. v. 

II Cypr., Epist. Ixxiv., Oper., vol. ii., 211. 

^ Th. Al, In2 Pasch. 

** Athan., De inc. Chr., vol. i., 484 ; Epist. Test., 
xxxix. ft Bas., Epist. 283, ad viduam. 

tt Chrys., Senn. xi., de Sanct. Pentec. 

^^ Cyr. Alex., Glaph. in Gen., iv. Cont. Jul, lib. vii. 



THE VULGATE. 



15 



Jerome, " the things that still remain doubt- 
ful, have recourse to the Law, and to the 
testimony of Scripture. For without it 
you will remain in the darkness of er- 
ror.''* 

" The man who is still weak, searches 
for THE Church," says Augustine, " and 
thou showest it to him in such and such a 
teacher. As for me, it is the voice of the 
Shepherd himself that I desire to hear and 
to follow. Listen, then, to the voice of 
the Word, proceeding from the mouth of 
the Word Himself. It is there you will 
find the Church of Christ and the flock of 
Christ. If thou art one of His sheep, fol- 
low him. It is to the authority of the 
canonical books that I yield, and to nothing 
else. When I raise mine eyes toward the 
Scriptures, I raise them to the mountains, 
whence cometh my help ; and in them are 
found the light and the lamp that illumine 
and guide my steps. "f 

This, reader, is w^hat the Fathers say ; 
among none of whom, as you see, is found 
any allowance for Tradition; and their opin- 
ions are sustained by the Doctors of Ro.me. 

Pope Gregory the Great aflirms that " all 
that can teach or edify is contained in the 
volume of the Scriptures ; that it is by them 
that preachers should instruct the people ; 
that it is in the words of God that one must 
seek for the thoughts of God," etc. J 

Again, Duns Scotus, that ingenious and 
venerated doctor, frankly declares " that 
he confines his theology within the limits 
of the revealed will of God, which is sufli- 
cient for man w^hile a voyager on earth." 
Lyranus, also, asserts that " the canon of 
the Scriptures is more than sufiicient for 
all ; and that, as to those things which Je- 
sus Christ chose not to reveal, no one has 
a right to conjecture them." Finally, a 
council gives notice to the whole Church, 
that " the Apostle John, at the end of the 
book of the Revelation, protests against all 
addition made to either Testament, when 
he pronounces these fearful words : ' If any 
one shall add unto these things, God shall 
add unto him the plagues that are written 
in. this book.' "^ 

What a blow, aimed at the very root of 
Tradition ! And the Fathers strike it ; yes, 
the very bishops and doctors upon whom 
the Church of Rome leans. Even Romish 
doctors, popes, and councils, unanimously 
say, with the ¥7ord of God, " Ye shall no't 
add unto the word which I command you, 
neither shall ye diminish aught from it." 
" Add thou not unto his words, lest thou 



* Hieron., Li Isai., viii., 20. 

t August., SerrrcO slvi., J)e past. In Ezech., XXSiv. ; 
Dc Doc!. Chr., ii.. 9 ; Coat. JIax. Ar., iii., ]4; De Naf. 
ei Gr., 61 ; De Ev. Joh., i., c. i., t. i. ; Senn. xxiii.j 
in Ps. cxviii. 

i Greg. I., Hist, in Ezech., i., 8. Reg. Epist., iv., 
40. 

<j Duns Scotus, Prol. Sent., ix., 3. Lvran., Libelli, 
2. Cone. For. Jul. (791). 



be found a liar, and that, like the Pharisees, 
in keeping the traditions of the elders, thou 
shouldst receive this condemnation : ' They 
honor me in vain, teaching for doctrine the 
commandments of men T "* 

" That," replies the Romish Church (for 
she is very bold, and does not easily aban- 
don her cause), "that does not prevent 
Scripture from being obscure, uncertain, 
and from fomenting and hatching a thou- 
sand diff'erent sects, the moment the Tra- 
ditions of the Apostles cease to enlighten 
and restrict its meaning. And, therefore 
(addressing the clergy), it is not allowed, 
either to make translations into the vulgar 
tongue, nor to permit the free use of it to 
the people, who should not read it without 
special permission, on pain of anathema. ''''\ 

This is, in substance, saying that the 
everlasting Gospel, which an angel of God 
was seen carrying through the midst of 
heaven, to preach to every nation, and kin- 
dred, and tongue, and people (Rev., xiv., 
6), is a mere collection of enigmas and 
problems ; and, moreover, is to be publish- 
ed in a whisper, and preached only in 
Latin ! ! 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE VULGATE. 

The Latin version of ihe Holy Volume, 
called " the Vulgate,'''' the Council of Trent 
declared to be alone authentic^ that is to 
say, that, on pain of excommunication, it 
is the only one permitted to be used in the 
Romish Church, which attaches to it more 
authority than even to the original text of 
the Hebrew and Greek. 

But it should be remembered that this 
translation, made by Jerome in the fourth 
centur}^ was so much changed in the six- 
teenth century, that Pope Sixtus V. was 
obliged to have it restored, and that, under 
his direction, an edition was printed at 
Rome, and pronounced, in a bull, to be 
pure and authentic, and the whole Church 
was required to receive it as such. And, 
further, notwithstanding all this care, and 
even the infallibility of the pope, this edi- 
tion was found so faulty, that in 1592, Clem- 
ent VIII., successor of Sixtus V., sup- 
pressed it, and had another pubhshed. But 
this latter was neither more correct nor 
purer than the preceding one ; on the con- 
trary, there are such contradictions be- 
tween these two versions, and both con- 
tain so many and such important errors, 
that it is impossible to place any confi- 
dence in them, or to decide, amid their two 
thousand and more contradictions, what is 
the true meaning of the text. 

■^ Deut., iv., 2. Prov., xxx.. 5, 6. Mark, vii. 

t Alph. a Castro, Contra hcsres., i., 4. Bossuet, 
Expos., 18, 19. Molanus, Theol. pract., lib. iii., c. 27. 
Index lib. Proh., Reg. iv. Leo XII., Ericyci, 1825. 

% Cone. Trid., sess. iv. 



16 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



Nevertheless, sucli is the Sacred Text 
of the Romish Church! Such a produc- 
tion as that is preferred even to the Revela- 
tion of the Holy Spirit ! This is what the 
Romish Church commands us to receive, 
on pain of excoinmunicalion too, rather than 
the Hebrew or Greek text, which God him- 
self inspired ! And, to entice me to do so, 
they pretend that the manuscripts, both 
Hebrew and Greek, have been altered, 
either by the Jews, enemies toXJhristian- 
ity, by the Greeks, enemies of the Latin 
Church, or, finally, by . . . the Huguenots ! 
But, I ask, if this Vulgate is really supe- 
rior to the original text, why does Jerome 
himself say, in more than one of his let- 
ters, that the Hebrew and Greek texts are 
as far preferable to his translation as the 
fountain is to the stream that flows from 
if? For, he says, it is one thing to be a 
prophet, and another to be only a trans- 
lator. Wherefore did Ambrose, Augus- 
tine, and even Gratian, in the twelfth cen- 
tury, insist on the necessity of verifying 
the Scriptures with the Greek and Hebrew 
text, and even of comparing several ver- 
sions, and retaining the best % Why was 
it maintained, in the twelfth Council of the 
Lateran, before Pope Leo X., that the 
translation of the Scriptures must be fol- 
lowed as nearly as possible % And, again, 
why was Bellarmine himself forced to the 
same opinion ]* 

For myself, I prefer the words of Isaiah, 
of David, of St. John, &c., to those of the 
very best interpreters, and if I thus draw on 
myself the anathema of the Council of Trent 
— so be it. 



CHAPTER V. 

TRANSLATION OF THE SCRIPTURES INTO THE 
COMMON LANGUAGE. READING OF THE BI- 
BLE BY THE PEOPLE. 

I prefer the same anathema rather than 
assent to the declarations of the Romish 
Church, that " it is neither- necessary nor 
useful that the Holy Scriptures should be 
translated in the vulgar tongues, and that 
it is not proper that they should be read by 
any but the clergy ;"t that " it is heresy to 
pretend that the Bible should be translated 
into the language of the people ;"| and, 
again, " We deny that the people should 
study the Scriptures ; it is much more ex- 
pedient to remove it from them," «fcc.<§ Is it 
the true Church of God, reader, the spouse of 
Jesus Christ, that employs such language ] 



* Aug., Canon locutio, dist, 38 ; De Civ. Dei, xv., 
13 ; De Doct. Ckr., ii., 12. Ambr., De Spir. Sancto, ii., 
6. Hieron , Conir. Helvid. Epist. ad Sun. ct Fretel. 
Epist. ad Marcell. Comm. in Zach., viii. Apoloo-. ii,, 
m Ruffin, &c. (C. T. 30). WiUet., Syn. Pap., p. 21. 

t Bellarm.,Z)eFe7-6oZ>ei,lib.ii.,15. Conc.Trid.,iv. 

t Sandetus, hb. vii., Visib. Monarch. (C. T., p. 35). 

ij Molanus, Lovan. Doctor. Theol , Lib. de Pract. 
Theol, tr. iii., c. xxvii., concl. ii. Hosius, De Sacro 
Veni. Legendo. 



And for what reason is the Church of 
Rome willing that I, a poor workman, la- 
borer, a tradesman, or a soldier, who have 
never learned and do not understand Latin, 
should be deprived of my Bible ? Or why, 
if I am a Hungarian, for instance, and Lat- 
in be my native language, am I forbidden 
then to nourish my own soul, as well as 
the souls of my family ? 

" Because," answers that mother (for so 
she calls herself), " the faith of the people 
is defined by ignorance, and not by knowl- 
edge. Let it suffice them to believe that 
which the pope and the Church believe ! 
Their obedience will be so much more im- 
plicit, inasmuch as it will be less rational. 
For what would become of the Church if 
the reading of the Holy Scriptures were 
allowed to shoemakers, fullers, and curri- 
ers ? Would this not be giving holy things 
unto dogs, and would it not soon change 
bakers into doctors and prophets, and 
their wives into as many prophetesses V* 
" Therefore," concludes the Council of 
Trent, " as it is evident that the free use 
of the Bible will produce more harm than 
good, all bishops, curates, or confessors, 
are enjoined not to allow it to be read by 
any but such only to whom its perusal can 
do no harm ; and to refuse absolution to 
such as shall read it without permission "f 

To all this I would merely say, in reply, 
that if the Holy Scriptures are obscure, 
they are so to those whose souls are in a 
similar predicament to that of the servant 
of Seneca, to whom the house of her mas- 
ter became daily more and more obscure, 
simply because she was becoming more 
and more blind ; or, rather, in the language 
of the Holy Spirit, if the Gospel be hid, it 
is hid to those whose understanding is 
darkened, because the god of this world 
hath blinded them, lest the light of the glo- 
rious Gospel should shine unto them. 

W^as the infallible Spirit mistaken when 
it declared that the Holy Scriptures can 
regulate the life of a young man ; and that 
Timothy had known them when yet he 
was a child ]% 

CONTRARIETY OF OPINION. 

Were those fathers and doctors also 
deceived, who have so strongly recom- 
mended the reading of the Scriptures to 
the simple and ignorant among the peo- 
ple ? Was it by an unlucky mistake that 
Hilary said to the Church that " the Word 
of God, addressed to all men, and profitable 
for all ages, should always be like a burn- 
ing lamp before our steps V'^ Was it 
through error that the pious Ba-nil remark- 

* Bellarm., DeJustif., i., 7. Andi;ad, Defcns. Cone. 
Tud.,]x\).i. BqW^uxi., De Rom. Pont., x\.,!}. Card. 
Cusan., Exerc, lib. vi. Sixt. Sienn., Annot. Bibl., vi., 
152. Alb. Pighius, Epist. ad Erasm., 16 (Pros. Ev.). 

t Cone. Trid., 5e6^6\ iv. Prohib. Uhr., reg. iv. 

i 2 Corinth., iv., 4. 2 Tim,, iii., 15. 

ij EuaJT. in Psahns cxviii., cxix. 



POPULAR READING OF THE BIBLE. 



17 



ed that " that which seems to be obscure 
in one passage of Scripture becomes evi- 
dent and is explained by another passage 
more clearly expressed ;" and, again, that 
" it is reasonable and necessary that each 
person should learn in the Scriptures, in- 
spired by God, what is useful for the pur- 
pose of growing in piety, and that we 
should not follow human traditions ; for 
Scripture was given by the Holy Spirit to 
all men as a pharmacy whence each should 
take the medicines suited to his disease ?"* 

Was it inadvertently that Ambrose wrote 
that, " when one meditates upon a passage 
of Scripture, it often happens that a doctrine 
that appeared to be at first a mountain is 
suddenly changed into a plain, by the illu- 
mination of the Spirit of God ;" that " the 
soul of every believer should strengthen 
itself in that study, as a wrestler strength- 
ens himself by exercise in the arena ; that 
Scripture is the pasture-ground where the 
sheep of the Lord fatten ; and that to read 
it is to walk about in the paradise of God Vf 
And if this reading is indeed so obscure, 
and, above all, so dangerous for the peo- 
ple, and so fruitful in abuses, wherefore, I 
ask, does Gregory Nazianzen teach that 
" the Holy Scriptures are a blessing ex- 
tended to all men ]"| Why does the Arch- 
bishop Chrysostom exclaim, " I entreat you, 
men of the people, to procure for your- 
selves the Holy Bible, which is the medicine 
of the soul ; or, at least, to obtain a New 
Testament V Why does he reprove even 
the common people for their negligence 
in reading the Holy Scriptures, and place 
before them the example of the eunuch of 
the Queen of Ethiopia ?^ 

Why did Jerome, the very author of the 
Vulgate, also translate the Bible into the lan- 
guage of his country, Dalmatia Ijl Where- 
fore did the Council of Nice (mark this) 
command that no Christian house should 
be without its Bible 1^ Why did the Bishop 
TJlphilas, who was himself present at this 
Council, make a translation of the BiMe 
into the language of the Goths]** Why, 
also, does the Venerable Be de affirm that, in 
his day, the Bible was read in the British Isl- 
ands in five different languages ?tt Why, 
again, does Gregory say, "What is the 
Holy Scripture, but a letter from the Al- 
mighty to his creatures ? Study, then, I 
entreat you, and meditate every day the 
words of your Creator. "J| 

Finally, why do Jerome, Chrysostom, and 
Augustine say, the first, " that laymen 

* Basil, In ascet., Resp. ad interrog., 267. Regul. 
brev., resp. 95. Homil. in Ps. i. 

t Expos, in Ps. cxviii. Epist. xlix., ad Sabinum. 

% Orat. xxxii. 

^ Homily 9th, on the Epist. to the Coloss. 

II Hosius, De sacro vernacula Legendo (apud 
Sharp). 

^ Corn. Agr., De Vanifate Scientiar. {Ibid.). 

** Socrat., lib. iv., 33. ft Histor., lib. i., c. i. 

tt Gregor. I., Epist. xxxi., ad Theod. Med. 
C 



should abound in the knowledge of the 
Holy Scriptures ;" the second, " that the 
common people, and particularly mothers, 
with their children, should pay attention to 
the comm.and of the apostle, which is to 
read the Bible with the greatest care ;" and 
the last, that, " through the wisdom of God, 
it has come to pass that the Scripture has 
been multiplied from the primitive language 
in which it was written, into an infinity of 
languages and dialects, so that it might be 
spread every where ; that men might be- 
lieve in God in the same language in which 
they habitually speak ; and that thus the 
whole Church might receive the dew of 
heaven — the holy Scriptures V* 

Still, Rome says, and continues to reiter- 
ate it, " Look, nevertheless, at the number- 
less sects, the religions of all hues, which 
this study of the Bible begets every day 
among the people who have a free use of 
it ! What abuse and evils ! Does not this 
alone show that this study is pernicious ■?" 

I reply, as did Chrysostom, when the 
Pagans held the same language, and said 
to the Christians, " We know not which 
of your sects to choose," " If one were to 
stop to examine all your cavils, he would 
have enough to distract him ; but since 
we receive the Scriptures, and they are 
simple and true, it is easy to judge respect- 
ing them. Let him, then, who wishes to 
be a Christian, be guided by them."t 

Receiving no answer to this, and recol- 
lecting the bull of one of the late popes 
which proscribed Mble Societies, and which 
drew forth the multiplied prohibitions of 
the archbishops and bishops against the 
dissemination of the Holy Book among 
the people — prohibitions which, in several 
plcLces, Jforced the priests to burn numerous 
copies of the Bible, even of a Romish edi- 
tion— I venture one more question. 

Why does the Church of Rome do. as 
far as concerns the reading of the Bible by 
the people, precisely the contrary of what 
God commands, not merely the clergy, but 
the whole people of Israel : " Therefore 
shall ye lay up these my words in your 
heart and in your soul, and bind them for 
a sign upon your hand, that they may be 
as frontlets between your eyes. Ye shall 
teach them to your children, speaking of them 
when thou sittest in thine house, and when 
thou walkest by the way, when thou liest 
down, and when thou risest up. And thou 
shalt write them upon the door-posts of thine 
house, and upon thy gates V etc.| Again, Je- 
hovah pronounces a blessing, not only on 
the clergy, but on every one whose delight 
is in the law of the Lord, and who doth 



* Hieron., Comm. in Epist. ad Col, iii., 16; et 
Ps. Ixxxvi. Chrys., Horn. 9th, on the Coloss. ; Id. 
Horn. 3d, on Lazarus. Aug., De Docir. chr., ii., 5 
Sermo 298 In. yiatal. apost Petri et Pauli. 

t Chrysost., Horn iii., in Acta. (P. E.). 

X Deal., xi.. 18-20; vi., 6-8. 



18 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



meditate in it day and night.* The Sav- 
ior of men enjoins, " Search the Script- 
ures ; for in them ye think ye have eter- 
nal hfe."t 

Is it not said to the people, the things that 
are in the Book of God are written for our 
instruction, that we should all take the 
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of 
God ; that the word of Christ should dwell 
in us richly in all wisdom ; that from a 
child Timothy knew the Holy Scriptures ; 
that we should desire the sincere milk of 
the Word, with the same avidity as new- 
born babes ; so that we may, by this nour- 
ishment, increase and be filled with the 
fruits of righteousness, unto the glory and 
praise of God ]% Are not all these words 
and blessings addressed to the people ^ Are 
they not, therefore, for me, who am of the 
people, of the most common people, but 
who, though I am vile in the eyes of men, 
have, nevertheless, a soul to save ] 

Why, then, does the Romish Church do 
precisely that which those heretics prac- 
ticed whom Tertullian reproached with hav- 
ing fled from the light of the Scriptures, 
and of whom Athanasius said, " They turn 
the attention of the people from the Holy 
Scriptures, under pretext of their being in- 
accessible ; but the truth is, that they fear 
being condemned by them ■?"§ Wherefore 
does this Church act in this manner, and, 
at the very moment when she invites me 
to her bosom, tell me to renounce the study 
of the Book of God ? 

Alas ! what would become of me, were 
I deprived of the W^ord of God 1 What 
would become of those multitudes who are 
sitting in the darkness of the shadow of 
death, or bowing down before wood and 
stone, slaves to infamous superstitions, 
idolators of a false prophet, or cursing 
Christ, and perishing without himl And 
what will be the lot of those nominal 
Christians, from whom the Book of God is 
thus withheld 1 What is their faith T What 
is their piety, their fear of God, their love 
of their neighbor, their purity of manners, 
their resemblance to Jesus, their prepara- 
ton for eternity 1 What can the Church of 
Rome care for those multitudes to whom 
she refuses the sacred oracles, or gives 
them in a mutilated and corrupted state ] 
Does she truly and cordially approve of 
this stupid ignorance of the divine coun- 
sels, and the destruction of souls for want 
of knowledge of the way of life \ Shall I 
become accessory to this work of delusion 
and death, to my own household ? Never. 
God has given me his Holy Word, and it is 
not in the power of Rome to take it from 



* Ps. i., 2. f John, v., 39. 

$1 Cor.,x.,ll. Eph.,vi.,17. Col.,iii., 16. 2 Tim., 
iii., 15. 1 Peter, ii., 1, 2. Philippians, i., 11. 

(^ LiiciftigcB Scriptuarnm. Tertul., De recurr. cam., 47. 
Athan., i. ii., p. 248 (P. E.). 



PART II. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF GRACE, OR THE CHURCH 
ON EARTH. 

But I pass to the essential point of my 
examination, which is, 

THE CHURCH. 

The Church of Jesus Christ on earth is 
the important subject of which I am about 
to treat, and in considering it, I shall care- 
fully attend to what the Roman Catholic 
and Apostolical Church adduces to prove 
that she alone is that Church ; that it is to 
her alone that the administration of grace 
here below has been committed by the 
chief Shepherd and Bishop of souls.* 

This subject, as I said, is solemn, and to 
treat it lightly is to tamper with the inter- 
ests of the soul, and jeopard its salvation. 
It is, therefore, an important inquiry that 
reflecting minds, in a time of religious re- 
vival, such as we have been in for some 
years past, are led to make with interest 
upon this subject : " Am I, or am I not, in 
the true Church of Jesus Christ ■?" De- 
plorable indeed is the state of that man 
(whether Protestant or Catholic) who re- 
mains satisfied with the mere passive im- 
pression of that faith which he professes, 
because it is that in which he has always 
been ! It is the Truth that saves ; and there 
are not two diff'erent truths. The Word 
of God is the truth, and all subjects of 
faith that it does not teach, God disowns.f 
The Lord Jesus Christ enjoins on his 
disciples to seek the truth, and to search 
His " oracles." " And why V exclaims the 
eloquent Chrysosiom. " For this reason : 
that, as heresy possesses, in common with 
the Church, the Temples, the Book of God, 
Bishops and the Sacraments, there is no dif- 
ference now between the external Church 
and the world. But their diff"erence is in 
Christ. Therefore, let him who wishes 
to discern, amid such confusion, the true 
Church from the false one, learn it fr^m 
the Scriptures. This is the only way to 
arrive at the truth on this subject :" " For," 
says Jerome also, " that which constitutes 
the Church is the truth of the doctrines, and 
not certain walls. Where the tvue faith is 
found, there also is found the Church. "J 

Perish, then, the irreligious and senseless 
adage, that " All religions are good, provi- 
ded they be followed." Its falsity is seen 
in contrast with the express declarations of 
Christ : " I am the way, and the truth, and 
the life; no man cometh unto the Father 
but by me." " He that believeth not the 
Son, shall not see life."^ It is in his Church, 
then, and nowhere else, that the Truth is 

* 1 Peter, ii., 25; v., 4. 
t John, xvii., 17. Gal., i., 8, 9. 
t Chrys., InMatth., xxiv., Horn. 49. Hier., Comm, 
in Ps. cxxxiji. 
^ John, xiv., 6; iii., 36. 1 John, v., 12, 



HER UNITY IN THE FAITH. 



19 



found clearly and firmly established, which 
alone gives life to the soul. He is God ; in 
him dwells the fullness of the divine coun- 
sel toward his chosen people. His knowl- 
edge, wisdom, power, and love, are immu- 
table. All that he has done he did volun- 
tarily of himself, and for his own imper- 
ishable glory ; and the manifestation of his 
grace toward man is but the result of his 
sovereign and permanent decrees. The 
Church of the Saviour, then, is the Church 
of God, one, permanent, infallible as God 
himself, in the Truth which is her basis, 
her substance, and her bond, through the 
influence of the Holy Spirit, which is in her, 
and will never be separated from her. To 
suppose the existence of another church, 
is to suppose that of another Saviour, one 
who, of course, would not be God ; a " false 
Christ," and, consequently, a false church. 

This true Church has, therefore, these 
two characteristics : firsts that she believes 
and teaches that Jesus Christ is " God, 
manifested in the flesh ;" the other, that by 
the Holy Spirit, she reproduces the image 
of Jesus her Head* in the unity, certainty, 
and permanency of her doctrine, of her 
obedience, and her durability. Such is the 
true Church ; the Church of the living God, 
"the pillar and ground of the truth," and 
against which " the gates of hell shall not 
prevail." I must, therefore, belong to 
that Church, for out of it God hath said 
there is nothing but certain condemnation ; 
" there is none other name under heaven 
given among men, but the name oi Jesus, 
whereby we must be saved. "f 

Is the Church of Rome indeed that Church 
of God 'i Is she the Church? Is it to her 
alone that the administrcrcion of salvation is 
intrusted 1 



CHAPTER I. 

UNITY, INFAJ-i-IBlLITY, AND PERMANENCY OF 
THE CHURCH OF ROME. 

" Yes, it is to me alone," she repHes ; 
" I am the Church. There is but one path 
to heaven ; there is but one door to the 
fold ; a narrow, strait, and low door, it is 
true, and which flesh and blood cannot 
pass without suffering. Whoso entereth 
not, will not see life ; and that door — " 

" Is Jesus !" I exclaim ; for He himself 
said, " I am the way," " I am the door."| 

" No," answers the Church of Rome ; 
" for that door is absolute and unreserved 
submission to what I command.^ I alone 
am one, infallible, permanent. As I am the 
most ancient church, I am also the mother 



■* I use the word head rather than that of chief, 
because the word in the original (KtcpaXfi) means the 
head in relation to the body ; while now, with us, chief 
means rather prince or leader. 

t Acts, iv., 12. t John, xiv., 6 ; x., 7. 

6 Dr. Wiseman, Rom. Cath. Lect, b. ii., 1838 
(E. R.). 



and sovereign of the whole Church of 
Christ ; being founded on the Apostle St. 
Peter himself, who left and transmitted to 
me his apostolical authority, in my bishops, 
by an uninterrupted succession."* " Let 
him be accursed, therefore," they cry, 
" who does not recognize the Holy Roman 
Catholic and Apostolical Church as the 
mother and sovereign of all the churches, 

OUT OF WHOM NO MAN CAN BE SAVED ! YeS, 

cursed be he who does not vow and swear 
full obedience to the Roman pontiff", the 
successor of St. Peter, the prince of apos- 
tles, and the vicar of Jesus Christ."! 

Out of whom no man can he saved ! ! 
Reader, this is a hard condition, and a se- 
vere sentence, considering that it is pro- 
nounced by one who says she is above the 
Scriptures and Tradition, " mistress of 
faith, and incapable of error !"J True, 
she does not always speak in such formal 
terms, and, whether through fear, modes- 
ty, conscience, or pity, she does not say 
before the friends of the Bible, before 
faithful Protestants, that they will be cursed 
and damned. But such is her doctrine, 
her decree, and her sentence. Yes, lost 
for eternity — if I be not a member of the 
Church of Rome ! ! 

I must, therefore, hesitate no longer to 
examine and decide this matter, for it is 
my imperious duty to obey the rightful 
head of the Church, notwithstanding my 
repugnance to his doctrines, practices, and 
numerous errors. This prejudice, if need 
be, must be resisted and overcome. These 
objections are nothing, compared with the 
duty of recognizing and uniting myself to 
that church on which my salvation de- 
pends. If I am famishing, I must take the 
bread that God gives me, even if it be pre- 
sented by a diseased or mutilated hand, or 
in an unclean vessel, rather than perish 
with hunger. 

Let us, then, examine as thoroughly as 
possible, whether the testimony which the 
Church of Rome bears of herself is that 
which the Lord gives concerning her. 

\ 1. Her unity in the Faith. 

Here it should be carefully observed, 
that unity, of itself, however sustained 
and compact it may be, and however great 
the number of souls whom it includes, is; 
no decisive proof that they are united' m. 
the Truth. There is, doubtless, unity of 
design, most important, constant, and per- 
severing, maintained among the "spiritual 
wickednesses" of which the apostle speaks. 



* Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholic Chwrchj 
passim. Abridgment of the Catechism, etc., id. Bel- 
larm., De EccL, iii., 10, 11, etc.; iv., 8. Ife Rom. 
Pontif, iv., 4. 

t Cone. Trid., sess. vii., can. 3 ; sess. xxv., id. 
Diet. Pap. Gregor. VIL, in epist., lib. ii., ep. 55,, 
Prof. fid. Trid., ex bulla Pap. Pii IV. (R. C). 

X Greg, de Val., Anal, 1. v., c. i. (P. £.,-25); 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



•^0 

and of whom Satan is called " the prince."* 
It may also be observed, that their unity is 
very ancient, and has not changed, either 
in its nature or its operations. Yet who 
would infer from this characteristic the 
rightful authority and essential agency of 
demons ? Who would say that the poicers 
of the air are of God, because they have 
but one will, one design, and that always 
the same ? Would any one plead under a 
human government that a conspiracy, be- 
cause plotted cunningly, and conducted 
unanimously, is lawful because of its unity, 
and has a right to declare to those citizens 
who are loyal, that they do not even be- 
long to the people, because they have 
among them different opinions \ 

In like manner, supposing the Church of 
Rome to be indeed one in her principles 
and in her course, and to have pursued this 
course long and without wavering, does 
this authorize her to proclaim herself th-e 
true and only Church of God, and to de- 
nounce Protestants as out of that church, 
because differences exist between them ] 
Is not the answer of the Protestants (which 
we shall consider more in detail) very ob- 
vious : If your unity be that of error, and 
our differences be on the side of truth, our 
condition is far preferable to yours ; for 
you are in the unity of darkness, while we 
differ only in the degrees or tints of light 1 
Is not the rainbow, though it be variegated, 
a far more beautiful phenomenon than the 
uniform blackness of midnight T 

It is, then, on the nature of the bond 
that depends that of the unity formed by 
that bond ; and assuredly the Church of 
Rome dares aspire to no other unity than 
that which is formed by the divine bond : 
that is to say, to the unity produced and 
maintained by the Word and Spirit of 
Christ in that church, which is " bone of 
His bone, and flesh of His flesh," and 
which is " the perfection of beauty."! 
When the Scriptures speak of the unity of 
the Church, it is always of her intimate 
union with the Lord, which is that of the 
body with its head, of the wife to the hus- 
band, of the branch to the vine, and of the 
edifice to the corner-stone ; a union of 
which the Saviour describes the intimacy, 
the power, and the permanency, when he 
asks the Father, in his sacerdotal prayer, 
that all his redeemed " be one,''"' as he and 
the Father are one. J 

It is, then, from this union, which the 
Holy Spirit forms between the Redeemer 
and his Church, that the unity of the faith 
flows ; and it is in that church that it is 
maintained. If two souls are united to 
Christ, they have certainly " one hope of 



* Jiuie, 6. Eph., ii., 1 ; vi., 12. 

t G-: . !i.. 2:i. Eph., v.. :«). 32. Cant. Ps. 1., 2. 

\ Jt ' vii., 21. T!i;* ori>4i rial says, "Iva TTHj/rejei 



a)(T(, til 
only I. 



<:\y, one a • 



:'>me being ; one same and 



their calling, one Lord, one faith, one bap- 
tism, one God and Father."* They are, 
in refereiice to each other, like the mem- 
bers of the same body, and, by the Holy 
Spirit, there is perfect unify between them. 
Increase the number, and, instead of two 
souls, let there be a thousand, ten thousand, 
or many more, who believe in Christ; the 
plenitude of the Saviour is then sufRcient 
for these thousands, just as it was sufficient 
for two souls ; and the same Spirit, again, 
makes perfect in unity this multitude of be- 
lievers. This is the eternal Church ; the 
spiritual and living Church. This is the 
Bride of the Son of God. These are the 
chosen of the ^^'ather, regenerated by the 
Holy Spirit, justified by faith, and to them 
alone belongs the heavenly inheritance. 
But this divine Church is known to God 
alone.] She remains invisible to the eyes 
of men, who may, indeed, imagine that they 
see her, because of the fruits of the Spirit 
which are found in her, but they can nev- 
er determine nor circumscribe her limits 
without error. 

Now it is unto that Church, and to her 
alone, that unity belongs ; I speak of the 
unity proceeding from Christ. She pos- 
sesses it, because the Saviour has said of 
his followers, that they are one in Him. 
Out of that Church it is not to be found, 
for the Saviour has also said, " Without me 
ye can do nothing," and, " if any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His ;" 
he scattereth instead oi gathering. % 

I must, then, conclude that the unity of 
the Church of Jesus is in Jesus, and is in 
him alone. When, therefore, the Romish 
Church speaks of her unity, if it be not thai 
which is in Christ, so far from being of a 
divine character, k must be of an entirely 
opposite one, and raore deplorable than 
the unity of Mohammtdism or Brahmin- 
^sm, inasmuch as she sih<s against greater 
light. 

It is true that the subject of this exam- 
ination concerns the Church that is still on 
earth, the Church united in a visible body, 
that is to say, the Church of the called as 
well as of the chosen. We should there- 
fore expect to find in her, and first of all, 
in her unity of faith, all the imperfection 
resulting from the very circumstances of 
her being gathered from the w^orld, and re- 
maining in the midst of it. But, notwith- 
standing this inevitable weakness, she will 
always bear the seal of her union with 
Christ, and she will show it in her unity. 
Yes, however numerous her faults or her 
falls may be, she will always certainly 
manifest the two principles of her exist- 
ence in Christ, to wit, the power of the 
Word, and the Spirit of the Lord Jesus : 
for Jesus is God. Let us not lose sight of 

* Eph., iv., 4-6. t 2 Tim., ii , 19. 

% John, XV., 5. Rom., viii., 9. Matt., xii., 30. 



HER UNITY IN THE FAITH. 



21 



this unchangeable principle. He, therefore, 
only communicates himself to man as God 
has always done ; I mean, by his Word, 
and by his Spirit. Whatever may be the 
constitution he has given to his Church on 
earth, and under whatever form he may 
have confirmed it by the seal of his unity, 
it is always by the Word that he has done 
it, through the efficacy of his Spirit ; for 
it is by these means, and none other, that 
he regenerates and justifies souls, unites 
them to one another, feeds them, sanctifies 
them, and gives them the victory over the 
world, over death, and over hell, and final- 
ly saves them in his eternal kingdom. All 
Scripture declares it. 

Whence I conclude, once more, that in 
the unity of the Romish Church I ought to 
discern Christ, that is, his Word and Spir- 
it, and discern them in a uniform and co- 
herent manner : " For in that," says Clem- 
ent of Alexandria, " consists the unity of 
the Church, as to its substance, its mean- 
ing, its principles, and its excellence. She 
is one in that faith alone which is accord- 
ing to the Testaments, or, rather, according 
to the Testament, which, being one, unites 
in divers times, by the will of God, and 
by means of one Lord alone, all those 
whom God hath chosen before the founda- 
tion of the world."* 

If, therefore, these two elements are not 
found in that Church, if the Word of the 
Lord Jesus and his Spirit are not there 
manifested in power, I hesitate not to say 
that Jesus Immanuel is not there ; that the 
Christ who is there brought forward is a 
false Christ, and that all that is done and 
rehearsed there, though it were one and 
the same from the most ancient times, is 
but deception, and so much more fatal, as 
it resembles that which is true. Jesus " can- 
not deny himself."! He would not, there- 
fore, permit his Church, which " is the 
fullness of him that filleth all in all,"J to 
have another unity than that of her Lord, 
that which exists between the Truth of 
God and the Life of God. 

What value, then, can I place on all that 
the Church of Rome tells me of her anti- 
quity, her authority, the succession of her 
leaders, and her infallibility, if I find her 
wanting this divine unity 1 All her other 
attributes are rendered valueless by this 
deficiency. She has no characteristics but 
those which pertain alike to false Christi- 
anity and Pagan idolatry. 

To sum up the argument on this point, 
I ask, is it, then, the truth, " as it is in Je- 
sus,"^ that forms the unity of the Church 
of Rome ] Were it so, and Jesus had, in 
fact, intrusted it particularly to her, would it 
not be durable, and resemble the character 
of her sovereign Teacher and Lord 1 But 

* Clem. Alex., Strom., 1. vii. (P. E.). 

t 2 Tim., ii., 13 % Eph., i., 23, 

^ Eph., iv., 21. 



what does the history of that Church pre- 
sent, in regard to her conformity to the 
Oracles of God, since the epoch when, se- 
duced by the power and splendor which 
surrounded her, she became a " kingdom 
of this world V 

If the " Eagle of Meaux," as he is call- 
ed, could write volumes on Jive variations 
of the Protestant Church, none of which 
variations concern the Primary Rule of 
Faith, the authors of the " History of the 
Contradictions of the Gallican Church,"" and 
the " History of the Church,'' and, quite re- 
cently, the •' Contradictions of Popery,""* 
had more abundant materials for compila- 
tion. Let any one take the trouble of fol- 
lowing the acts of the Church of Rome, 
from the sixth or seventh century up to 
the seventeenth, and say if there exists a 
history more fruitful than hers either in 
changes, inconsistencies, contradictions, or 
in formal and decided opposition to the 
Word of Christ — the rule of faith of the 
Church of God. As it was not in se- 
cret that all this occurred, we may inform 
ourselves respecting it before we receive 
implicitly that assertion of the Church of 
Rome, " I have the unity of the faith." We 
may then say, either that all history is but a 
series of falsehood, or that the Church of 
Rome is mistaken. In the sight of God we 
cannot but examine the facts, and if they 
prove that nothing is more foreign to that 
Church than unity, we cannot be at a loss 
as to the course we ought to pursue, 
whether to accredit her arrogant asser- 
tion, or to expose her errors and turn away 
from them. 

^ 2. SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH 
OF ROME. 

It was at a very early period that the 
enemy, taking advantage of the sleep of 
the workmen, scattered, and caused to 
spring up in the field of the world, the tares 
of heresy among the good seed of the 
Word.f " The generation that had the 
privilege of hearing the voice of the apos- 
tles had passed," wrote an ecclesiastical 
historian of the second century, and one of 
the earliest fathers, " and forthwith was 
formed the insidious and impious conspira- 
cy of error, by the perfidy of those who au- 
daciously substituted their perverse doc- 
trines for the preaching of the truth."J In 
Rome, in Antioch, in Alexandria, in Car- 
thage, in Spain, and the Gauls, those divi- 
sions, sects, and pernicious doctrines which 
the Saviour and his apostles had predicted, 
showed themselves, supplanting or warring 
against each other, and the "mystery of 



* The Hist, of the Variations, by Bossuet, has its 
answer in these three works ; the first by Renoult, 
the second by Basnage, and the third by Edgar. 

t Matt., xiii. 

t Hegesip. ap. Euseb., Hist., lib. iii., c. xxxii. (R. 
C). 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



22 

iniquity" developed itself in the midst of 
them, notwithstanding the continued la- 
bors of the servants of Jesus, who ceased 
not to protest against all that was not ac- 
cording to the spirit of the Word. 

"The divine institution is corrupted," 
exclaim, as if with one voice, all the pious 
pastors of that period. " Christians, lulled 
in a shameful luxuriousness, are not arous- 
ed from it except to devour one another. 
The leaders are as guilty as the flock, and 
the people no more desire the sacred doc- 
trine. The enemy of souls, also, prepares 
and hastens their utter ruin. Already he 
has broken the bones of the body of Christ, 
which he surrounds with every snare, and 
of that Church, which persecution had in- 
creased, and the crowns of the martyrs 
embellished, there remains nothing but the 
carcass. Princes, it is true, enrich it with 
their gifts, but its virtues have vanished."* 

If such was the sad condition of the 
Church generally, after the first ages, the 
Church of Rome especially manifested 
this degeneracy and corruption, which was 
the necessary result of the terrestrial 
power given her by the emperors, and of 
that worldly glory which she had preferred 
to the humility of the Gospel. As early 
as the fourth century, she was infested 
with the heresy of Anus, and the violence 
accompanying it. Then Liberius, one of 
her bishops (or popes, for these names 
were then indiscriminately given, in vari- 
ous countries, to the presidents of the 
Church), made shipwreck of the faith by 
falling into Arianism. Osius, another of 
her prelates, fell in the same way, at the 
same time, and, a short time after, Bama- 
sus succeeded to the papal seat by force of 
arms.f 

At this time, Basil, writing to the Bishop 
of Thessalonica, said to him, " It is to 
ourselves, to our own sins, that we must 
attribute this presumptuous increase of 
heresy, from which scarcely a single coun- 
try of the world has been exempted ; and 
hence nothing is more rare than the meet- 
ing of a brother animated by the Spirit of 
God, expressing the words of peace, the 
spiritual communion of souls."} 

In the fifth century, when Bishop Lau- 
rentius was raised, by intrigue and money, 
to the papal authority, Rome and all Italy 
were full of disturbance ;^ pillage, and mur- 
der, and luxury, impurity, licentiousness, 
and idolatry attained such a height, that 
even the oppression of the barbarians, who 
overwhelmed the West, was more support- 



* Cypr., De Laps., 4. Greg. Naz., Orat. ii., ^ Ixxxii. 
Euseb., Hist., viii., c. i. Cyril. Hieros., Cat., xv., p. 
109. August., Enar. in xli. Ps. (R. C). 

t Platina, De Vita Liber., Chr., 353. Be\\arm.,De 
Rom. Pont., lib. iv., c. 9. Andre du Chesne, Hist, des 
Papes, loco. Plat., Vita Dam. I., Chr., 366 (R. C). 

X Basil. Oper., Epist., 164 and 172. 

^ Baronius, Ann. EccL, vi., p. 532, Chr., 498. 



able, says Bishop Salvian, "than that of 
the See of Rome."* 

We see the mercenary and perfidious 
Vigilus, in the sixth century, crowned with 
the tiara,-\ and during his reign, and after 
him, the whole Latin Church was a prey 
to schism and interminable contest. " It 
is an army of impure priests that foment 
them," writes another pope , " priests sold 
to the prince of pride, and who, caring lit- 
tle about teaching the people, and leading 
them in the way of life, are the authors 
of their crimes and destruction."} 

He who utters these complaints is Greg- 
ory THE Great, who at the same time ab- 
jures, in fact, the sovereignty of the Holy 
Spirit and the power of the Gospel, in that 
memorable direction which he gave the 
monk, Augustine, for the conversion of the 
idolators of England, when he wrote to him 
" not to put an end to their pagan festivals, 
nor to their customs of worship, but, on 
the contrary, to preserve them, contenting 
himself with substituting for the names of 
the false gods those of the saints of whom 
their churches bore the names, and whose 
relics were there deposited ! !"§ 

The disorders, the impurity, and the pub- 
lic rejection of the Scriptures, became 
greater still in the two following centu- 
ries. Though the Lord raised up, from 
time to time, pious men, jealous of his 
Word, and gave them strength to oppose 
the general depravation, yet these witness- 
es to the truth were comparatively very 
few in number in a church which, having 
grown almost entirely worldly, became 
daily more enslaved to its passions and 
lusts, and " supposed that gain is godli- 
ness." This is what her own doctors re- 
mark ; they tell us that, in the seventh 
century, in the year 606, one of the most vi- 
cious tyrants that the world ever produced, 
the Emperor Phocas, obedient to the vilest 
motives, conferred the title and power of 
universal bishop, and visible and supreme 
head of the Church, on the Bishop of Rome ; 
that, at the same time, Arianism had its 
churches all over Italy, and prevailed more 
or less in every town ; and that it was by 
the force of arms, and after a bloody con- 
test of the two parties, that Pope Sergius 
was placed on the throne. "|| 

It was in the eighth century that the tem- 
poral power of the pope was fixed and de- 
cided, and that it arose above that of kings 
and emperors. Then, also, Latin idolatry 
manifested itself openly in the worship of 
images and relics ; and thus the Church of 



* Salvian, De Gubem. Dei, lib. vii. 

t Baron., Chr., 548. 

i Gregor. I., lib. iv., Epist., 38; In Evang., lib. i., 
Horn. 17 (R. C). 

() Beda, lib. i., c. xxx. Warner, lib. ii,, p. 49 
(Hist, of the Ch. of Chr., vol. ii.). 

II Baron., Ann. EccL, torn, viii., 200. Genebard., 
Chron., lib. iii., year 638. Platina, Vita iSerg., i., 
1 A.D. 867 (R. C). 



HER HISTORY. 



23 



Rome exemplified the truth of the remark, 
" that the heart of man, in its worship, can 
place the creature, at least by the side, if 
not in the very place of God."* 

The dike once broken, the flood rushed in, 
and soon entirely demolished it. In the 
ninth century Transubstantiation appear- 
ed ; the use of the Bible was abolished, or 
supplanted by even pagan books. Ceremo- 
nies unknown before in the Church, and for 
the most part copied from those of the 
worship of pagan Rome or Athens, were 
multiplied with great pomp and parade. 
Feasts, images, and relics of the saints 
were substituted in the service of God for 
humility, faith, love, and repentance. The 
power of the pope became each year more 
exorbitant and oppressive. The people 
were burdened with the load of observances 
and taxes : the Church had become a wid- 
ow, and her own children afflicted her.f 

" As to the tenth century," writes a car- 
dinal and historian, " it was the commence- 
ment of the iron, leaden ages of darkness 
in the Church." " The abomination of des- 
olation stood in the Holy Place." Monsters 
were placed on that apostolical seat, which 
is the pillar of the world. Crimes, impuri- 
ties, and assassinations cover them with 
eternal infamy ! Insatiable lust of power 
and dominion invaded all ; and pontiffs, 
unjustly elected by depraved women, dared 
to call themselves legitimate. Simony, ra- 
pacity, violence, schism, and war raised 
them up or overthrew them. The West 
was on fire. " Fifty popes, rather apos- 
tate than apostolical," exclaims another 
prelate, "succeeded each other in a few 
years; and of their number, scarcely five 
are worthy of being named."J 

The eleventh century adds to these ca- 
lamities the destruction of whole genera- 
tions, in those senseless expeditions adorn- 
ed with the seducing title of Crusades, and 
which originated in superstition, the vain- 
glory of the world, and in avarice. The 
popes continued, in this century, their quar- 
rels with the emperors. A law, which the 
Word of God condemns, was made para- 
mount for the Church — the imposition of 
celibacy on the clergy — and those who op- 
posed it perished at the stake. The divine 
laws were corrupted, and those of man de- 
spised ; and this prophecy was fulfilled: 
" There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowl- 
edge of God in the land. By swearing, and 
lying, and killing, and stealing, and commit- 
ting adultery, they break out, and blood 
toucheth blood. "^ The court of Rome was 
a den of wild beasts. 1| " They are all," ex- 

* Baron., Ann.'Eccl., 705. Platina, Gregor. III., 
Chr., 731. Bellarm., De Imag., lib. ii., c. 14 (R. C). 

t Nicol., Pap. X., 353. Baron., A.D. 853. Usser., 
JDe Christ., Eccles. Succ. et Statu., Chr., 874, 894 (Id.). 

t Genebr., Chron. Ann. 904. Baron., Ann. 900, 912. 

^ Hosea, iv., 1-3. Usser., Chr., c. 5. 
, . II Baron., Greg. VIL, Ann. Dom. 1075. 



claims even a pope, " worse before God 
than Jews and pagans ;* for it is there, in 
that den," writes a bishop of this age, " that 
the sentences of judges are bought, prayers 
sold, and the rights of the people, and all or- 
der and prudence, trodden under foot. At 
the bar are seated men of cruelty ; in the as- 
sembly of the cardinals, vipers ; at feasts, 
buffoons, and the taxes are levied by harp- 
ies."! 

Was the twelfth century less dark, less 
vicious, or less bloody 1 Let us listen 
to the testimony of witnesses taken, as 
heretofore, from the very bosom of this 
Church of Rome. " Look toward Baby- 
lon," says a theologian and bishop, " and 
consider the palaces and places of that ac- 
cursed city. Its princes and judges, sold 
unto iniquity, know not what new crimes 
to commit or to teach ; dragging with them 
into hell all that surrounds them. There 
is the seat of the Beast."J " Rome," says 
another witness, " is only a field of battle. 
Divided into opposite parties, the people 
and the cardinals are under arms, and it is 
power thus obtained that places or dis- 
places the chief of the Church, whom 
synods or councils either recognize or give 
over unto Satan. "^^ 

" It is not of the people that I speak," 
writes the eloquent Abbe of Clairvaux ; 
" no, it is not of a nameless multitude ; it 
is of the pillars of the Church itself. Let 
even one among those who are elevated to 
power, be shown who is a light to the na- 
tions ; a single one who does not, instead 
of spreading light, produce smoke ! Dress- 
ed in meretricious attire, they all seek 
merely riches and luxury. It is with the 
spoils of the Spouse of Christ that they 
adorn themselves ; it is with her estates 
they enrich themselves ; corrupting those 
whom they should form unto wisdom. "|| 
" Thus it is," says another prelate, " that 
Rome, who should be the mother of the 
Church, has become her stepmother, and 
that the Scribes and Pharisees overburden 
their flocks by their dominion, that they 
may satisfy their insatiable avarice."^ 

In the thirteenth century, Matthew Paris, a 
Benedictine, informs us that " the pope was 
the most ambitious and haughty of men ; 
that his thirst for gold was ardent, and 
that he would consent to every crime, at 
the allurement of presents."** "The time 
has come," says Innocent III., in the fourth 



* Gregor. Pap., Litter, ad Hugon. Clun. Abbat. 
Baron., A.D. 1075. 

t Hildebr., Episc. Cur. Roman, descript., A.D. 1090 
(R. C). 

X Honor. Augustod., Dial, deprced. et lib. arb., A.D. 
1120. 

^ Baron., A.D. 1130, 1159. Du Pin, twelfth century, 
Epist. Syn. Encyd. (Id.). 

II S. Bern, abb., Vita S. Malach., Hibern. episc. in 
pr(Bf., Idem, in Cantic. Sermo, 11. 

% Episc. Johan. Salisb. in Usser., Ann. 1179. 

** Matth. Par., Hist. Angl Johannes, Ann. 1213. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



24 

General Council of Lateran, " when the 
judgment of God begins at his house. The 
priests have become the stumbling-blocks 
and seducers of the people, models in all 
kinds of iniquity and villany. Faith has 
perished, religion is mutilated, liberty is 
crushed, justice is trodden under foot, and 
perfidy knows no bounds."* " And what is 
the cause of these abominations T" asks a 
bishop, speaking of the Church of Rome. 
" It is that Church itself; not only because 
she does not abolish such enormities, but, 
still worse, because she sanctions them by 
her own example, in that, for the sake of 
the temporary elevation of a single man, 
she consents to the destruction of thou- 
sands of souls for whom the Son of God 
suffered and died, and whom she first ex- 
poses to being devoured by wild beasts, 
and then to perish eternally. "f 

At that time, also, in all the colleges and 
monasteries, the philosophy of Aristotle 
was the book studied and preached to the 
people. The Bible was literally unknown, 
even to the clerg}'-. The monks of differ- 
ent orders filled the world with their con- 
tentions, and a bull of the pope declared 
that " the Holy War of the Crusades" was 
an infallible expiation for all sins. The 
whole Western Church was plunged in this 
darkness of death. J 

In the fourteenth century, we see, for a 
period of about fifty years, two or three 
popes at the head of the Church of Rome, 
simultaneously and mutually excommuni- 
cating each other. Then, too, the King of 
France railed at the power of the pope, 
whom he called " His Great Extravagance,'''' 
and the latter, by the famous bull " Unam 
Sanctam,'' excommuniccited the audacious 
rebel. Several monks opposed that bull, and 
Rome had them burned alive. The flocks 
were abandoned, the churches fell into ru- 
ins ;^ complaints and public accusations 
rose up on all sides against Rome, " that 
hell of the living ;"|| and even 3. female saint 
of those days (afterward canonized by Bon- 
iface IX.), in recitals that two councils 
and three popes have sanctioned,^ places 
the pope of that time below Lucifer and 
Judas, and stamps infamy on the prelates, 
the priests, and the monks. " The Latin 
church," asserts an historian of that epoch, 
" is now but an arena, where ambition, ava- 
rice, violence, and murder grasp or annihi- 
late authority ; and in this ebb and flow of 
wickedness, each usurps at will both the 
dignities and their benefices."** 



* Papae Iiinoc. III., in Cone, gener. Later., Sermo. 
i., A.D. 1216. 

t Episc. Grosset., Serm., A.D. 1250 (R. C). 

i Collier, Ecd. Hist., vol. i. Hist, of the Church, 
vol. iv., London. 

() Du Pin, 1296. Bzovii., Ann. Ecd, xv., A.D. 
1378. II Petrarch, Part I., So?i. 108. 

^ Cone. Constanc. et Basil., Papae Urb. VI., Mart, 
v., et Paul V. Revel. S. BirgittcB. Canonius., A.D. 
1391 (R. C). ** Bzov., A.D. 1396. 



In the fifteenth century, the annals of the 
Romish Church may be read by the fires of 
martyrdom. Still farther removed from 
the Bible, more and more burdened with 
ceremonies and observances, she was torn 
internally by debates and schisms, and at 
the same time she cast into the flames her 
bishops, doctors, and priests, who re- 
proached her with her ignorance and vice. 
Acknowledgments of this excess of cor- 
ruption come from the lips of even the 
cardinals, in their epistle to the King of 
France. " It is notorious," say they to 
him, " that the Church is buried in ruins, 
that her destruction draws nigh ; that faith 
has departed from her ; and that her whole 
body, from the feet to the head, is con- 
sumed as by the most terrible pestilence."* 
" Alas !" exclaims the Chancellor of the 
University of Paris, " how shall I bewail 
the calamities of our days ! They are seen 
in the general contempt of authority, in the 
avidity of those who, notwithstanding their 
vow of poverty, seek only for offices and 
riches, regardless ahke of the fate of Lot's 
wife and that of Ananias and Sapphira. 
Behold them, also, in those prelates and 
dignitaries who deliver up their flocks to 
the wolves, and, despising the apostolical 
precepts, aspire only to princely wealthy 
to say nothing of those who take the hel- 
met instead of the mitre, and the cuirass 
instead of the flaxen garment that ought to 
cover them !"f 

The sixteenth century was not different 
from those which preceded it. The Bible 
was no less neglected, the preaching no 
less obscure, the people no less burdened 
with superstitions, and vain and fatiguing 
ceremonies. The intrigues, impurities, 
extortions, divisions, and disputings were 
no less the habits of the prelates than of 
their inferiors ; and while the excess of 
these enormities forced even a pope to ask 
for " the reformation of the head and body 
of the Church,"^: the desire was wholly in- 
efiicient and fruitless. In this century, " we 
see an aged pope, regardless of his dignity 
or his duties, place himself at the head of 
an army, besiege Mirandole, direct the ar- 
tillery himself, and enter the first through 
the breach into the town he had conquer- 
ed."!^ We see a clergy without virtue, 
abandoning itself to luxury, intemperance, 
and every kind of corruption ;|| and these 
debaucheries and vices attained to such a 
height, and became so notorious, as to 
render the ecclesiastics the objects of the 
hatred and contempt of the people. " The 
churches," says Mezerai, " are without 
pastors, the monasteries without monks, 



* Epist. Card. Greg. XII. ad Carol, reg. Franc^ 
Concil. gen. Pis., A.D. 1409. 

+ Serm. Joh. Gerson., doct. et cancel. Paris, Pis. 
Cone, A.D. 1409. } Concil. Pis., sess. 19. 

ij Muratori, Ann. d'ltal, torn, x., p. 52 (R. C). 

II Jul. II., Ann. Dom. 1512. Labbe, Cone xiv., 19, 
149, etc. 



HER DIFFERENCES. 



25- 



the monks without, discipline, the churches 
and sacred edifices in ruins, or turned into 
dens of robbers ; the bishops flee from 
their dioceses, as from dreadful solitudes ; 
and the amusements of Paris, with the 
servitude of the court, are their usual oc- 
cupations."* 

Such was the Church of Rome up to the 
sixteenth century, as she herself testifies, 
and as the most zealous and influential of 
her defenders, J5o55we^, acknowledges when 
he mentions the complaints and avowals 
of the first prelates of his church If 

Can it be surprising, then, that even this 
slight sketch of the history appears hide- 
ous and repulsive 1 Is it a groundless as- 
sertion to declare, in view of such a pic- 
ture, that if any unity ever showed itself 
in the church here represented, it was cer- 
tainly not a Divine unity 1 

" Well," rejoins that church, " those 
were abuses and disorders, and I own them 
to be such. But what institution on earth 
is not subject to them ; and what justice, 
what common sense, even, would there be 
in confounding the constitution of a state 
with the evils that afflict it^ Do you not 
know, besides, that in the very times of 
which you complain, there was one uni- 
versal cry in all the councils for the repres- 
sion of this licentiousness, and the amend- 
ment of these errors ? Still farther, is it not 
evident to one who is unprejudiced, that if 
the pretended Reformation had not come 
to confound and overturn all, these faults 
would have been corrected, and all these 
excesses repressed or punished ; as they 
were only exterior and accidental, and did 
not concern the nature of the Church it- 
self, that unit]/, that infallibility/, that zeal 
and permanence which characterize it, and 
have preserved it through all ages f 

But I reply, these differences, opposi- 
tions, debates, and controversies related to 
doctrine, and to the rule of faith, and have 
increased and continue to multiply in the 
Church of Rome on these subjects, which 
are not merely " exterior and accidental.''^ 
Let us look at the evidence on this point. 

DIFFERENCES ON THE RULE OF FAITH. 

These are accumulated by doctors, col- 
leges, universities, prelates, popes, and 
councils, as if through emulation, either in 
their hostility against the Scriptures, which 
they discard and despise, and which they 
sacrifice to human comments, or by their 
interminable disputes, and quarrels be- 
tween themselves. 

I have already pointed out several ex- 
amples of it in speaking of the authority 
of the Holy Scriptures. Here are a few 
more, among the many ; others will be 
brought forward in turn, as our examina- 
tion proceeds. 



* Mezerai, 16th cent. 

t Bossuet, Var. de VEgl Prot., p. 155-159. 

D 



We have seen above that the ecclesias- 
tical Fathers, and the first Bishops of Rome, 
exalted the dignity of the Holy Scriptures,, 
and firmly laid down this principle : " The 
Word of Christ alone is the Rule of Faith 
of the Christian Church." 

This soon changed. As soon as the 
temporal authority was in the hands of 
the popes, their decretals (that is to say, 
their letters and decrees) were united to 
the Bible as a Rule of Faith, and even ob- 
tained an authority superior to that of the 
Scriptures.* What Divine unity ! 

The apostolical traditions, also, predomi- 
nated over the Book of God. " Whence do 
we know," writes one of the first doctors, 
" that the writings of Moses are by him 1 
Have we got their originals 1 And if we 
had them, should we know the handwriting 
of Moses ■? What is more changeable than 
the written Scripture? Each transcriber 
can alter it. But the Traditions, transmitted 
from mouth to mouth, depend neither on 
parchment nor on a pen !"f 

Very soon the principles of the pagan 
Aristotle, under the name of " Scholastic 
Theology," literally drove the Holy Scrip- 
tures from the Church, and it was publicly 
said and taught that they were useless ; 
" that the Scholastics sufficed ;" " that in 
whatever language Scripture was read, it 
could only create trouble, and that it would 
have been better had it never existed," 
etc. ;J and thence the unceasing enmities 
of the Scotists and the Thomists, the Fran- 
ciscans and the Dominicans, the Jesuits and 
the Jansenists. What Divine unity ! 

And what was done respecting the books 
not inspired ] The Council of Ijaodicea 
and that of Constantinople, as we have al- 
ready seen, had rejected the Apocryphal 
Books. The Council of Carthage, on the 
contrary, admitted the most of them ; and 
in process of time three popes agreed with 
that of Carthage, while, on the contrary, 
Pope Gregory the Great, at the head of a 
college of theologians, confirmed that of 
Laodicea. What Divine unity ! 

Farther : The clandestine Council of 
Florence, in 1439, had abolished the an- 
cient canon of the Scriptures, and recog- 
nized the Apocrypha. And when Luther 
and the other Reformers rose with power 
against the errors of the Church of Rome,^ 
which could not be defended except by the 
Apocryphal Books, the Council of Trent 
received the mandate to recognize these 
books also as divine. Then, after sharp 
disputes, in which blows followed abuse, \ the 
matter was referred to the decision of the 



* Buck, Theol. Diet., loco. Basnage, Hist, de 
VEgl., book xxvii., ^ 2. 

t Pighius, De Hist. EccL, lib. i. Basn., xxvii., 8. 

X Basnage, xxvii., passim. 

^ See the History of the Reformation of the Six- 
teenth Century, by Merle d'Aubigne, vol. ii., p. 112 and. 
foil., and p. 262 and foil. 

11 Palav., 1st. del Cone, di Tr., lib. viii.,c. 6. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



fifty bishops, cardinals, and deputies pres- 
ent ; and, by a majority of five votes, it 
was decided that " the Holy Spirit had dic- 
tated the Apocryphal Books, and that they 
were constituted, on pain of malediction, 
the Rule of Faith of the Church .'" So, then, 
a majority of /ye in an assembly of licen- 
tious and notoriously profligate men, whose 
debates were mingled with buffoonery,* 
" received from the Lord Jesus the charge 
to impose on the whole Christian world a 
different revelation from that of God ! .'" 

And with regard to the Confession of 
Faith of the Church of Rome, this same 
Council of Trent, composed of one hun- 
dred and sixty-six voters, thus displayed 
their unity in the faith in deciding the ques- 
tion of administering the sacrament in one 
hind only : twenty-nine were for permitting 
the people to take the cup ; thirty-one voted 
the same, with the provision .that the pope 
should decide ; thirty-eight formally oppos- 
ed it ; twenty-four were for referring it ab- 
solutely to the pope ; nineteen were for 
permitting the cup to the Bohemians and 
Hungarians ; fourteen were for postponing 
the question, and eleven wished to remain 
neutral. What harmony ! what unity of 
faith ! 

As to the Symbol of the Faith, on which 
the whole Church rests, we have the fol- 
lowing proceedings. In 1546, in its third 
session, this council had declared that the 
Nicean Creed was the only one sanctioned 
by the Church, and against which the gates 
of hell would not prevail ; thus confirming 
what the Council of Ephesus had decreed 
in 431, when it resolved " that if any one 
made another creed, he would be degraded, 
if he were an ecclesiastic, and excommuni- 
cated if he were of the people." In 1563, 
the Council of Trent terminated; and in 
1564 Pope Pius IV. published a new creed! 
Thus, then, either the council is unauthor- 
itative, or else the Bishop of Rome is de- 
graded, and, at all events, the present creed 
of the Romish Church is sanctioned by no 
council ! ! What conformity ! what Divine 
UNITY ! Such pretensions of unity in the 
faith can only sei-ve to excite disgust and 
sorrow. 



CHAPTER II. 

UNITY OF THE BIBLE CHURCH. 

" Is it for you," answers the Church of 
Rome, " to mourn over abuses which, after 
all, do not affect the foundation of my au- 
thority ; for you, who see in Protestantism, 
where your soul wanders and loses itself, 
naught but divisions, sects, and contradic- 
tions of all kinds : an evident proof of the 
falsity of that system, since ' Christ is not 
divided V " 



* Basnage, xxvii., 4. 



No, reader, Christ is not divided, and the 
Bible, which is His Word, is also one and 
the same Truth, at all times and every 
where. The Church, also, that is founded 
on that unchangeable Word, is always one, 
in her belief and her principles ; and if the 
numerous provinces of this great empire, 
if the various departments of this vast 
house of God present different localities 
and appearances, there is always, how- 
ever, unity in the whole ; as the leaves of 
the Bible, though strewed over the surface 
of the earth, would, nevertheless, form but 
one Bible, because the Truth would be one 
in each and all united, and a single page 
of this celestial book would contain more 
simple truth than the largest volumes of 
human labor and philosophy. 

Now it is that Book of God, it is that 
Bible which Protestantism has taken at all 
times and in all places, for the only foun- 
dation of its faith, for the only guide of its 
discipline ; and if within its bounds the 
meaning of the Holy Book is not every- 
where and always the same, in the appli- 
cation of its principal truths, these latter, 
at least, have remained untouched, and in- 
variably the same, in each of the smallest 
as much as in the largest compartments of 
that church. Of course, I do not say that 
among the multitudes that compose that 
immense church are found only faithful 
disciples. Alas ! it is the " little flock" 
that knows and follows the voice of the 
Good Shepherd ! We know, also, that 
from the midst of them have arisen, and 
will still arise till the end of all things, a 
mass of worldly and unbelieving men, who, 
it is true, take to themselves the name of 
that church, calling themselves Protestant 
or Reformed; but what can thence be in- 
ferred against the unity of the Church itself 'f 
Will it be said that the Church of Ephesus, 
planted there by an apostle, and founded 
on the Word of Christ, was not one in Him, 
because in her, as in the churches of Gala- 
tia, might be found false brethren, or be- 
cause " grievous wolves entered in among 
them, teachers of falsehood V — (Acts, xx., 
29, 30. Gal., i., 7.) Will it be said that 
the churches of the Bible, whatever may 
be the peculiar names they receive from 
man, are not in wm7y, because, in the coun- 
tries where God has planted them, the un- 
converted and hypocrites creep in or re- 
main in them, or because the " old serpent" 
produces there Arians, Pelagians, Socini- 
ans, Neologists, and Rationalists ? What ! 
does the earth belong only to the Church 
of Jesus 1 and if the world calls itself 
Christian, does it follow that the Church 
is of the world, or that the world is a sect 
of the Church ? 

How absurd is such reasoning ; and how 
surprising it is to find it in the mouth of 
those very men who, when the schisms, 
debates, divisions, and wars of their church 



UNITY OF THE BIBLE CHURCH. 



27 



are recalled to mind, answer with confi- 
dence that " the foundation remained firm ; 
that the pope always kept his seat; and 
that if even the pope was, at one time, 
divided, and those several popes condemn- 
ed each other, still the authority of the true 
See did not change ; that it was always 
^ne /" I would say to them, if your church 
continues one, because a certain authority, 
entirely ideal and conventional, does not 
change, the Church of the Bible has al- 
ways been one and the same, because its 
basis is the Book of God, which is not a 
vain idea, and has not changed ; for the 
^ects, the heresies, and the falsehoods that 
the world has produced, even under the 
cover of the name of that Church, have no 
more changed its character, than the ster- 
ile ivy, that creeps on the bark and under 
the shade of the tree, corrupts or dimin- 
ishes its sap or the quality of its fruits. 
If you love the truth, and are disposed to 
receive it, I would invite your attention 
farther to what history discloses, as a rem- 
edy for your prejudices. It is not with 
Protestantism merely that we are con- 
cerned in this investigation. The origin 
of that is well known. But it is with the 
Christian Church, which is not the Church 
of Rome ; and with the fact that she has 
always maintained, and still continues to 
maintain every where, the most perfect 
uniti/ in holding and teaching the funda- 
mental points of faith, and in rejecting de- 
cidedly the peculiar doctrines of the Ro- 
mish Church. 

What, then, are the facts on this subject ] 
The Confessions of Faith of the various 
and numerous churches of the Bible exist ; 
several of these creeds date from the first 
ages of the Gospel, and are all similar, unan- 
imous, harmonious, respecting the truths of 
salvation and the doctrines of the Word 
of God. And this, too, notwithstanding 
(mark this, reader) these confessions, so far 
from being copies of one primitive formu- 
la, were drawn up at various times, in pla- 
ces distant from each other, and under cir- 
cumstances that prevented any communi- 
cation between the churches, being of en- 
tirely different languages, customs, man- 
ners, and countries. 

Such, for instance, were the Christians 
(forgotten, or entirely unknown) at the ex- 
tremity of India, among whom the Portu- 
guese, when they landed in that country in 
the 16th century, found, to their great as- 
tonishment, one hundred flourishing church- 
es. They reckon a succession of bish- 
ops of more than thirteen centuries ; they 
had never heard of the Church of Rome; 
they believe only in those Holy Books 
which they possess, and they make, to the 
Christians of the Latin Church, who soon 
became their persecutors and butchers, the 
same confession of faith which that Church 
liears in difi'erent parts of Europe, and 



which she persecutes wherever she finds 
it. Now, these numerous and flourishing 
churches know nothing of the pope, the 
Vulgate, nor the Apocryphas ; nothing of 
the worship of the Virgin Mary and the 
saints and images; nor what transuhstanti- 
ation is, or extreme unction, or purgatory, 
or celibacy of pnests ;* and though the 
Church of Rome oppresses them, and the 
Inquisition of Goa hghts up the stake in 
their midst, they remain steadfast in their 
adherence to the Word of God, the Bible, 
which they have always possessed. 

The Armenian churches profess the 
same belief. Spread through India, Per- 
sia, Syria, Cihcia, Cappadocia, Russia, 
Turkey, Hungary, and Poland, they pos- 
sess the whole Bible, with which alone 
their Confession of Faith agrees ; which 
dates from the end of the fourth century, 
or from the beginning of the fifth. Ortho- 
dox in the foundations of their belief, these 
churches always reject the principles and 
special doctrines of the Church of Rome, 
which they excommunicate quite as open- 
ly as the abominations of Mohammedism.f 

The Jacobites, established in Asia, and 
some countries of Africa, and whose nu- 
merous churches are traced up to the sixth 
century, are no less biblical in the funda- 
mental principles of their belief, nor less 
formal in their repulsion of the Latin hie- 
rarchy, of the supremacy of the pope, of 
purgatory, transubstantiation, confirma- 
tion, extreme unction, and the other speci- 
alities of the Romish Church. | 

The numerous churches of the Greeks, 
the Mingrelians, the Nestorians, are equally 
uniform in the confession of their belief of 
the truths of the Bible, as they are in their 
absolute rejection of what they call the 
schism and heresy of Rome, whose principal 
doctrines and peculiar customs they ex- 
communicate.^ 

If these vast churches of the East are 
in this unity, on the one hand, as it regards 
the Bible, and, on the other, as to the Ro- 
mish Church, the churches of the West, 
which are nearly as numerous, and which 
cling as exclusively to the Bible, are no 
less harmonious and decisive in unity re- 
specting these two points. 

Let us now examine and compare the 
Confessions of Faith of the ancient Cathari, 
of the Waldenses, and Albigenses, all of 



* Godeau, i., 270. Moreri, vii., 397. Thomas, 
vii., 15. Renaudot, ii., 105; i., 374. Canisius, iv., 
433 (V. P.). 

+ Thomas, i., 4. Labbe, xii., 1572. Vitricius, c. 
xxiii. Spon., iv., 1145. God., i, 273. Morus, 62. 
Canis., iv., 434. Thevenot, iii., 396 (V. P.). Bu- 
chanan's Researches, 242. Ycate's Ind. Church Hist., 
p. 47-70. 

t Godeau, i., 275. Canis., iv., 434. Moreri, viii., 
42^. Vitric, i., 76. Bruce, v., 12 (V. P.). 

^ P. Simon., c. i. Canis., iv., 433. Prateol , vii. 
Mor., 199. Renaudot, ii., 105. Thevenol, i., 258. 
M. Paris, 426. Labbe, xiii., 938 (Y. P.). 



28 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



which were drawn up several centuries 
before the Reformation ; and whose church- 
es, we are told by the historians of the 
Church of Rome, were spread " in all the 
countries of Europe," and in so great num- 
bers, that in one alone of these countries 
more than 300,000 soldiers were sent to 
conquer and destroy them. 

What were the doctrines which they had 
in their formularies, and which they loved 
more than their property, their country, 
and their lives 1 They were those of the 
same churches of which we have just spo- 
ken. They were the fundamental truths 
of the Bible ; and, above all, that of salvation 
through grace, and by faith alone, and without 
the merits of man, which is the substance 
and glory of the Gospel. And they cher- 
ished (without interruption, since the first 
ages, and without any concession, either 
in words or in practice) the most profound 
abhorrence of the authority, the instruc- 
tion, and the worship of the Church of 
Rome, against which they protested from 
generation to generation, among the Gauls, 
in Spain, in England, in Scotland, France, 
Germany, Bohemia, Poland, Lithuania, 
Switzerland, Piedmont, Italy, Calabria, Si- 
cily, Holland, Sweden, and Livonia, and 
almost throughout all Europe.* 

When God restored, if I may so speak, 
publicly, his Bible to the nations, first to 
Germany and Switzerland, then to Prus- 
sia, France, England, and so many other 
countries of Europe, and when those na- 
tions, on opening it before the world, de- 
clared that they behoved and would follow 
that Bible alone, they drew up Confessions 
of Faith, by which, one after another, and 
all togeViiev,X]\ey protested against the doc- 
trines and principles of the Church of 
Rome, which Confessions of Faith were 
similar to those of the ancient churches of 
India, of Asia, and of Africa, and of the 
churches, quite as ancient, of Bohemia, 
Piedmont, and Languedoc. 

The reader may remember, that at that 
epoch of light and regeneration in Europe, 
the men whom God had charged to recall 
to the minds of the people that salvation 
is by grace, and that the Bible alone is the 
truth, received messages from those prim- 
itive churches whom we have just named, 
and were found in the most complete unity 
of doctrine with them ; so that when, in 
the same century, and almost simultane- 
ously, the twelve Confessions of Faith ap- 
peared, of Augsburg, Strasburg, Poland, 
Saxony, Bohemia, Wirtemburg, the Palat- 
inate, Switzerland, France, Holland, Eng- 
land, and Scotland, all these symbols of be- 
lief, sworn to by whole nations, presented, 
in the most homogeneous and harmonious 



^ Moreri, i., 235. Du Pin, 325. Labbe, xiii., 384. 
Vign., ill., 283, 293. Nangis., Ann., 1207. Rainer., 
c. iv. Poplin, i., 7. Sylv., c. xxxv. Petav.,ii., 225. 
Thuan., i., 221 (V. P.). 



manner (though under different forms), the 
same doctrines respecting the truths of sal- 
vation, and the same protestation against 
every thing opposed to it. 

This harmony and similarity of views, 
this unanimous agreement between so 
many different minds, acting without the 
aid of each other, in places and times so 
different, and amid political interests so 
opposed, forms a unique fact in the an- 
nals of human society, and of science and 
philosophy. What an astonishing specta- 
cle it is to the historian who places him- 
self without and beyond those times, and 
who contemplates the successive genera- 
tions who peopled Asia, Northern Africa,. 
Europe, and America, for fourteen or fif- 
teen centuries, that this single belief is one 
and every where the same, which, continual- 
ly planted and always living, perpetuates 
itself, and remains the same amid all the 
revolutions of states, the migrations of na- 
tions, and the changes of language ! ' 

What, then, is the root of that plant, 
which thus, in every soil and under every 
climate, springs up always the same, and 
from which accumulated ages diminish- 
nothing either of its vigor or its fruit ? It 
is THE Bible, and that plant is the Church 
OF THE Bible, who calls herself Christian 
before God, orthodox before men, and Prot- 
estant, because she protests, in all ages, 
places, and languages, that she believes 
and retains naught but the Bible, and that 
she rejects the peculiar doctrines of the 
Church of Rome, with all her practices. 

If this unity does not appear sufficient ; 
if in the kingdom of the Holy Spirit that 
kind of unity is required which pertains to 
an earthly empire, we would ask, where- 
fore, when the first disciples of the Lord 
desired such unity, their Master rebuked 
them 1— (Mark, ix., 38-40.) Why did He, 
addressing each of them, point them di- 
rectly to the Holy Spirit, and not toward 
one of their own number, placed by him 
over the others 1— (Rev., ii,, 7, 11, &c.) 
Why, in the apostolical times, were the 
large and faithful churches of Jerusalem, 
Antioch, Ephesus, and Rome, and, after- 
ward, of Carthage, Byzantium, and of Syr- 
ia, blessed and flourishing, though they 
were mutually independent ] And, finally, 
why did the churches of India, planted ia 
the first century, and by an apostle of the 
Lord, never know of that hierarchical unity, 
and that earthly and carnal centre which 
the neio Church of Rome attributes to her- 
self, and which she says she has received 
from God 1 

Let the last-mentioned Church answer 
these questions if she can ; and, until she 
has done so, let her cease repeating the 
accusation, full of trifling or ignorance, 
" Protestantism lacks unity.''' What greater 
unity would you wish than that of a uni- 
form and invariable beUef in a Bible that 



I^'FALLIBILITY. 



29 



is always the same ; than one same and 
constant abhorrence of all authority and 
practices disowned by that Bible ] \Miat 
other unit2j do you require than that which 
spreads itself, like a thread of light, around 
the shores of the world, and which, in all 
ages of the human race, reproduces the 
same faith in the blood of " God manifest 
in the flesh,." and in the same salvation 
unmerited by works ; and, at the same 
time, the same aversion for that " myste- 
ry" foretold in the Word, and which that 
Word anathematizes! 

But let us confine ourselves to the 
Church of Rome, and attend to what she 
farther adduces to substantiate her claim 

to INFALLIBILITY. 



CHAPTER III, 

DISCREPANCY OF VIEWS IN THE CHURCH OF 
ROME RESPECTING HER INFALLIBILITY AND 
PERMANENCY. 

"I AM infallible, and will always con- 
tinue on earth," she loudly exclaims, vsrith 
confidence ; " for it is of me that Jesus 
Christ spoke when he said, the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against his Church ; 
when two or three are assembled together 
in His name, He will be there with them ; 
that He is with His apostles always, even 
unto the end of the world ; that he that hear- 
eth the Church heareth Him ; that the 
Holy Spirit is with the Church, which is 
the pillar and ground of the truth."* 

Doubtless, every Christian will acknowl- 
edge that all this relates to the Church of 
Christ, and that she will really exist on 
earth till the end of time, and will ever be 
the witness of the truth, and the fold of 
the sheep of the Saviour. For Jesus is God, 
1 repeat ; there is, therefore, no darkness 
in him ; all his words are truth ; He is not 
a man, that he should lie ; He exists eter- 
nally, and his spouse, the Church, is like 
himself, so far as she is in him, that is to 
say, so far as she remains in the Truth, by 
faith in his Word. But that which is in- 
fallible and eternal in the Truth, and which 
remains such wherever it is found, abides 
and dwells in it, not because of the voice 
that pronounces it, or of the mouth that 
repeats and teaches it, but because of the 
Truth; for it is such in itself; and though 
it may manifest its infallibility and its firm- 
ness by the instrument it makes use of, it 
nevertheless ever retains them in itself, 
having never distributed or imparted them 
to any one. 

If, then, the Word is always infallible and 
permanent, it is because it is the Truth; 
and if the Church keeps and reproduces 
that Truth, she is, indeed, secure in the en- 
joyment of it, and she certainly produces 



* Bellarm., De Eccles., passim. Matt., xvi., 18, 20 ; 
xxviii., 18-20, Luke, x., 16. John, xiv., 16, 17; 
xvi., 13. 



. a sure and eternal doctrine, but she is not 

! herself infallible or unchangeable, as infalli- 
bility and permanency are only in the 
Truth, which she doubtless believes, but 
it may be in weakness, and with the ad- 
mixture of some errors. 

The Holy Scripture, also, states that 
" THE House of God, which is the Church, 
is the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 
Tim., iii., 15) ; but it says not that it is the 
Truth. The pillar that sustains the edi- 
fice is not the building. If that building is 
the magnificent palace of a prince, the 
prop on which it leans is far from being 
that splendid mansion, much less is it the 
monarch who constitutes its glory ; and 
if it would be a silly thing to pretend that 
the column of which we speak, however 
precious and ornamented it might be, had 
the right to substitute itself either for the 
prince or for his palace, how much more 
absurd would it be to approach the column 
as if yfe were contemplating the palace, 
or to seek to recognize in it the person of 
its master ! 

Let the Church, then, whichever she 
may be on earth, consider this, and not 
wander from it : " If she is the pillar and 
ground of the Truth, that is to say, if it is 
indeed to her that the revelation of God is 
intrusted here below, she is not herself the 
Truth, and, consequently, she is not infal- 
lible nor eternal in herself." Infallibility 
and stability, indeed, abide in her, in the 
W^ord with which God intrusts her ; but if 
she is faithful, and thus maintains the 
Truth, she can never say, Beheve me, for 
/ am infalhble, and depend on me, for / am 
permanent : but she will say, " BeUeve 

I that which I repeat, and depend on what 
I teach, for it is the Truth, the infallible 
Word of God, that I announce to you." 

Besides, this infallible and permanent na- 
ture is nowhere in Holy Scripture attrib- 
uted to the Church. It is faithfulness, and 
not infallibility, which is named as one of 
her characteristics, because the Church re- 
ceives, and should keep ; because she is 
taught, and she ought to repeat what she 
learns ; she is the depository of the oracles 
of God, and she should be jealous of thej 
glory ; all these are so many stimulants to 
he faithful, and that only ; and it is in mak- 
ing her faithful that God will make her per- 
manent. 

The Church of Rome, therefore, appears 
ridiculous when she calls herself infallible 
and unchangeable ; and that, not so much on 
account of her errors, which render her 
unfaithful, as on account of the reason 
which Scripture gives, viz.. that a pillar is 
not the house which it sustains, and that a 
servant who is fortified is not the master 

I who gives him his strength. 

Of this, a celebrated Romish iber, ogian 
reminded the Council of Constaiic • The 
infallible Church," he said, " is i; ■: that 



30 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



of Africa, nor that of Rome, nor the repre- 
sentative Church which assembles itself 
in a council, for councils have often erred ; 
but it is the Church of Jesus Christ, which 
is spread over the whole earth ; and she is 
infallible, because the Holy Scriptures are 
found in her.''''* 

1 may, then, ask if the Church of Rome 
is indeed infallible. I do not mean to ask 
if she possesses that divine infallibiUty 
which is found here below only in the 
Word, but, using that expression to signify 
faithfulness, I ask, " Has she the power of 
keeping the truth always, and particularly 
never to be in contradiction with herself "?" 

" I am not very sure about it," that holy 
Church answers immediately, "for I am 
still ignorant where my infallibility resides. 
Sometimes I think and say that it is in my 
head, the pope ; at others, I declare that it 
is in my members and my head together ; 
or I teach and maintain that it is in the 
councils ; or else, again, that it is in the 
councils over which the pope presides ; but 
this appears to me so unsettled and so 
doubtful, that I find it expedient not to de- 
cide any thing about z^."t 

" I think so too," adds the president of 
the Council of Constance, the Cardinal 
d'Ailly, " for a universal council may make 
a decision contrary to the Law of God ; the 
Church of Rome, separated from the as- 
sembly of the faithful, may become heret- 
ical, and the greater part of the clergy and 
the people may lose their faith. "J 

" I also do not know how to believe it," 
says Pic de Mirandole, complaining partic- 
ularly that the Church does not know where 
resides her infallibility. "It is certainly 
not in the heads of the Church," he writes, 
"for I remember having seen one pope 
who told his servants that he did not be- 
live there is a God, and another, who denied 
the immortality of the souiy^ 

^ 1. CONTRADICTIONS OF THE COUNCILS. 

" We do not believe it either," the coun- 
cils may add, " since we have erred, and 
have reciprocally contradicted and opposed 
each other." 

" For the councils," we are told by one 
of the first doctors of the Church of Rome, 
" are not of divine institution. The Scrip- 
tures nowhere mention them ; and the 
Church never received any direction con- 
cerning them from the apostles. How 
can one admit, moreover, that a council, 
even if it be a general one, represents the 
universal Church, while it is not the thou- 



* Th. Netter, or Waldensis, Doctr. fidei, lib. ii., 
a. 2, c. 19. The books of this theologian have been 
approved by a bull of Pope Martin V. Basn., xxvii., 3. 

t Delahogue (Rom. Cath.), Tract, de Eccl. auth., 
ed. iii., p. 50. Ch. Butler, Book of the Rom. Cath. 
Church, let. x., p. 122. 

t Alliae, in Quest, vesp., a. 3. Basn., ubi supra. 

^ Picus Mir., Defide et ord. cred. Th., iv. 



sandth part of it? If that council is of 
Jesus Christ, why do the Scriptures say 
nothing of it "? And if it be of the Church, 
whence has the Church received such au- 
thority r'* 

The Lord Jesus had, indeed, promised 
that where two or three were gathered to- 
gether in His name, there He would be in 
the midst of them.f He said "in His 
name ;" but the councils usually assem- 
bled in any other name than that of Jesus 
Christ. The Holy Spirit, also, was never 
present in their sessions, and error was 
their appanage. Let the reader judge of 
it for himself. 

The Council of Ne6caesarea (in 315), 
which was approved by Pope Leo IV., con- 
demned second marriages, which are, not- 
withstanding, permitted by the Word of 
God (1 Cor., vii., 39).t The Council of 
Aries (452), opposing the Council of Gan- 
gres (340), approved by Leo IV , forbids that 
a married man should be ordained priest, 
contrary to the Word of God, which allows 
it (1 Tim., iii., 2. Heb., xiii., 4), and to the 
example of the apostles, and particularly 
of St. Peter, who had a wife (Matt., 8-14. 
1 Cor., ix., 5). 

The second General Council, held at Con- 
stantinople, attributed the primacy to the 
Bishop of Rome, contrary to the decrees 
of the first Council of Nice, and of the 
Council of Carthage, which declare that 
no one can assume., without sinning, the title 
of Sovereign Pontiff. 

The Council of Chalcedon (451) places 
the Bishop of Constantinople on the same 
rank as that of Rome. But how many 
councils have contradicted this ! 

The thirty-first Council of Constantino- 
ple (754) proscribed the worship of images. 
In 784, the second Council of Nice anathe- 
matized those who condemn it ; and in 794, 
the first Council of Frankfort excommuni- 
cated, in its turn, that of Nice, and ratified 
the decision of the Council of Constantino- 
ple ! Moreover, the same Council of Nice 
aflirmed that none of the Fathers of the 
Church had ever given the name of emblem 
of the body of Christ to the consecrated 
bread of the Eucharist, and " on this asser- 
tion" is established the dogma of the real 
presence of Christ in the elements of the 
Lord's Supper. And yet, among other 
Fathers, Eusebius and Theodoret, of the 
Greek Church, and Ambrose and Gelasius 
I., of the Latin Church, all anterior to that 
council, had said precisely what the coun- 
cil affirmed that they had denied.^ 

The Council of Basle, in 1431, ordained 

* In Scripturis Canonicis nullum de iis verbum est. 
Alb. Pighius, Hierarch. Eccl., lib. vi., c. 1 and 4. 

t Matth., xviii., 20. 

t Sharpius. Cursus TheoL, p. 1890, et seq. 

^ Cone. Nic, ii., act. vi. Euseb. Dem., ev., viii., 2. 
Theod., Z>/aZ., ii. Ambr., Oj^c, i. Ge\3iS., De duab. 
Chr. nat., Bibl. Patr., iv., 422. 



INFALLIBILITY. 



31 



the Communion in the two kinds, that is, 
bread and wine, contrary to the decree 
of the Council of Constance, which, in 
1414, had forbidden it, in contempt of the 
Word of God (Matth., xxvi., 27. Mark, 
xiv., 23). These two councils decided, 
also, that a council is above a pope ; but one 
of the Councils of Lateran decided the con- 
trary, etc., etc. 

Lastly, the Council of Trent, which was, 
says the Church of Rome, " more infallible 
than Scripture itself," " asserted, declared, 
affirmed, and decreed," that the faith, the 
tradition, and the unanimous practice of the 
universal Church, was that which it had act- 
ed upon in all its sessions. And that, read- 
er, contraiy to the multiplied expostula- 
tions of history, and the most evident 
facts!* 

Where is Jesus in all this ] Where is the 
Holy Spirit, speaking through the Holy 
Scriptures \ Where is unity of faith .? 
Where, especially, is infallibility T 

§ 2. CONTRADICTIONS AMONG THE POPES. 

Finally, the popes themselves say that 
they do not believe in the infallibility of the 
Church of Rome. It is true that this church 
tells them, " You are infallible. You are 
the successors of St. Peter. It was for 
you that Jesus Christ prayed when He 
prayed for the faith of that apostle, and it 
is to you that He intrusted the keys of the 
Church." -But in spite of these assurances 
so often repeated, the popes persist in 
showing that they are any thing else than 
infallible. 

Thus, for instance, we hear Pope Greg- 
ory I. (604) declaring before the Church 
that " he who wishes to have himself 
called Universal Pontiff, becomes by his 
pride the precursor of Antichrist, and that 
no Christian should take that blasphemous 
name, which obliterates all the honor of a 
priest."! Pope Gregory VII., also (1070), 
decreed that only the Pontiff of Rome can 
with truth be called universal. What pa- 
pal infallibility I What pomanency in the 
truth !| 

Leo IX., also (1049), and afterward this 
same Gregory VII., caused to be published 
and decreed by the councils, that the pope 
can be judged by no one ; that he is an in- 
fallible judge ; that the Church of Rome 
has never erred, and that, as the Scriptures 
certify, she can never do so.^ But, after- 
ward, one of them. Pope Gregory XI. 
(1370), said on his death-bed, and declared 
in his will, that if in the consistory, or in the 
councils, or elsewhere, he had sustained doc- 
trines that were contrary to the Catholic 



* Cone. Trid., sess. xiii., 3, 4, 5 ; xiv., 5, 7 ; xxiii., 
1, 3: xxiv., etc. 

t Greg. I., Epist., lib. vi., 30. Egojidenter dico, etc. 

t Greg. VIL, Diet, epist., lib. ii., 55. Reg. epist., 
lib. v.,Ind. 13, epist. 20. 

^ Bellarra., iv., 8. TeitulL, 502. Du Pin, 346 
(V. P.). 



faith, he condemned what he had done !* I 
must, therefore, be of the same opinion as 
the Romish doctor, Almain (1500), who 
says that " the pope can err, not only as a 
man, but also as a judge ;" and I must 
add. Who, then, is infallible 1 

" It is not I," says Victor (202), " for I 
have been a Montanist, and since have re- 
tracted." 

" Nor I," says Stephen (250), " for I 
have held the same opinions respecting 
Baptism which Cyprian calls heretical and 
blasphemous.'^'' 

" Nor is it us," say Liberius (366), Zoz- 
imus (418), and Honorius (638), " since 
we have countenanced the errors of Euty- 
chius, Arius, and Pelagius." 

" Still less is it us," declare Vigilius (550) 
and John XXII. (1330), " for we both have 
retracted ; I (Vigilius) twice, respecting the 
heresy of Eutychius ; and I (John) once, 
about the state of souls awaiting the resur- 
rection ; for," he may add with shame, 
" the University of Paris condemned me, 
and I was obliged to acknowledge my 
mistake."! 

But the whole Church is at variance re- 
specting them. After three centuries, the 
infallibility given them by the Church 
ceased, and was withdrawn. A schism 
was created. Two or three popes reigned 
at the same time ; some at Avignon, others 
at Rome or elsewhere. A council had to 
put an end to that fallibility ; and it began 
by declaring that thenceforth the popes 
would be subject to its censure. This coun- 
cil was held at Pisa (1510). The papal in- 
fallibility was then destroyed. It was 
necessary, therefore, to raise it up again. 
A Council of Lateran took charge of it, 
and, by calling Leo X. " a God, having ali* 

POWER IN heaven AND ON EARTH,"J it dCCidcd 

the question ; and the very infallibility of 
the Lord Jesus was thus decreed to a poor 
man, as weak and simple as all others ! 

The Council of Trent came next. There 
the ambassador of France declared " that 
his master would not allow the pope to be 
above the council." His master! reader. 
But it was neither the Word of God nor 
the Holy Spirit, for what concern had 
either of them in such underhand deal- 
ings 1 The council was undetermined. 
On the one hand, it feared that Master of 
France spoken of, and, on the other, says 
its historian, " it acted as the subject of its 
only sovereign, the pope.''^^ But the Bible 
has decided the matter as follows : 

The Lord Jesus, who is the supreme 
legislator, and who surely will never aban- 
don to the power of Satan the man whom 
he has established in his Church, and 
anointed by his Spirit, that unchangeable 



* Spicil. Dach., t. vi. Basnage, vol. ii., p. 1598. 
t Labbe.vi., 66, 130, 197, 199,310. God., iv..265, 
266 (id.). t Matth., xxviii., 18. 

§ Palav., lib. xii., c. 15. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



King, who has said that he is with his apos- 
tles (and, consequently, with those who suc- 
ceed them) unto the eiid of the world* has 
placed in the invariable code of laws of his 
Church, which is, which was, and which 
ever will be infallible, this declaration, " A 
lishop must he blameless, the husband of one 
wife,\ vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given 
to hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, 
no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre ;% but 
patient, not a brawler, not covetous^ Such 
is the character of every bishop of the 
Church, as required by the Saviour ; and 
surely the Holy Spirit will form it in the 
man whom it has made infallible. It 
would be dishonoring God and blaspheming 
against the Holy Spirit to think otherwise ; 
to suppose, on the one hand, that the most 
holy and almighty Legislator could have 
neglected, or have forgotten (I know not 
which term to use), to accomplish in his 
vicar that which he wishes to see in every 
pastor of his beloved Church ; and, on the 
other hand, that the Holy Spirit should in- 
variably abide with a man who rejects, by 
his conduct, the precept of the King of 
the Church. 

But, instead of this pure and glorious re- 
semblance to " the high and lofty One that 
inhabiteth eternity, and whose name is 
HoLY,"^ and which the Spirit of Jesus has 
described, so that it may reappear in the 
soul of a bishop who is His servant ; in- 
stead of this portrait of the Saviour, what a 
picture do the personal character, habits, 
and whole life of a great number of those 
men who have called themselves infallible, 
who have taken the name of " Holy Fa- 
ther," and whom the Church of Rome has 
declared to possess at the same time both 
the succession of an apostle, and the full- 
ness of the Spirit of God, present ! ! I hesi- 
tate to trace even a few only of the fea- 
tures of this horrible picture, where, since 
the time of Gregory, surnamed " the 
great," (!) are witnessed scenes and open 
professions of imposture, of extreme wick- 
edness, barbarity, ambition, avarice, perfi- 
dy, sensuality, debauchery, infamy, Deism, 
and even Atheism. But it must be done, 
for I have appealed to my reader's judg- 
ment, and he ought to understand the mat- 
ter thoroughly. 

A pious and eloquent writer, in contem- 
plating this same picture, exclaimed : 

" Such is the holy, such the unerring one ! 
The earthly leader of the Church of God ! 
What matters in what crime a Pope has run, 
What though of sin his heart be an abode, 
Though Alexander be his shameful name, 
Though avarice, theft, and incest there abide, 
Barbarity and atheism defame, 

And Borgia beside !|1 



* Matth., xxviii., 20. t Mat? ywaix^i avSpa. 

% Ai(TxPoK£p6ri. ^ ^ Is., Ivii., 15. 

11 Voila done le tres- saint, voila done I'infaillible ! 

De I'Eglise de Dieu voila le chef visible ! 

Qu'importe en quelle fange un pape se souilla, 



Even the historians most devoted to the 
Church of Rome (as we have already seen) 
call several of their pontiffs monsters ; 
apostate rather than apostolical; guilty of 
theft, murder, simony, sacrilege, tyranny, 
perjury, and all the most shameful crimes ; 
having rendered the Church a chaos of in- 
iquity, and the papal see a seat of the most 
detestable poUiition.* 

In the tenth century, we see Sergius III., 
a pope twice deposed, and elected for the 
third time by the intrigues of the infamous 
Marozzia, his concubine, who ruled with 
him in Rome, and with those who suc- 
ceeded him. Shortly after this, we behold 
Pope John XI., son of Sergius III. by Ma- 
rozzia, living in incest with his mother ! 
Then followed John XII., the most wicked 
of popes, says Bellarmine, who turned the 
palace of the '' Holy Fathers" into a place 
of debaucheries, multiplied violence and 
cruelties, was addicted to magic, and who 
deposed and scattered a council, over 
which the Emperor Otho presided. Again, 
we see John XIII. or XIV. (son of John 
XII.) accused, before the magistrates, of 
the most detestable pollution, and perishing 
by the sword in the very act of adultery. 

Farther on, in the same century, there 
was Boniface VII., " a thief, a murderer, 
an infidel," says his historian ; " a detest- 
able monster, surpassing all human beings 
in wickedness ;" who strangled his prede- 
cessor, was chased from Rome by the peo- 
ple, pillaged and robbed the treasures of 
the Vatican in his flight, recovered the 
Holy See by money and artifices, impris- 
oned and caused to perish by hunger the 
pope who was appointed his successor, and 
whose corpse he exposed at the gate of the 
palace, then suddenly perished himself, 
and was dragged by the populace over the 
pavement of the streets. f 

In the eleventh century, we have pre- 
sented to us a Hildebrand (Gregory VII.), 
whom a council (Brescia, 1078) called a 
fornicator, an impostor, an assassin, a sor- 
cerer, sacrilegious, schismatic, and per- 
jured ; surpassing all bounds in pride, har- 
dihood, and tyranny ; taking from the pas- 
tors of the Church the right given them 
by Jesus to have a wife and children, and, 
finally, excommunicating and deposing an 
emperor. Again, we see Victor III. taking 
the concubine of his predecess or as his 

Qu'il se nomme Alexandre, et qu'il soit fourbe, 

avare, 
Incestueux, athee, empoisonneur, barbare, 
Et de plus Borgia ! 
—A Christian's Hymn on Popery (Cantique d'un 
Chretien sur la Papaute), with notes, by H. F. JuiUe- 
rat, Paris, 1836. See, also. Abridged Chronicle of 
Popery, p. 354 and foil, of the book named The Spir- 
ihial Arsenal, Yverdon, 1829. 

* Genebr., iv. Platina, 128. Du Pm, ii., 150. 
Bruys,ii., 208. Spona., 900. i. ; 908, iii. Ann. Eccl., 
344. Giann., vii., 5. Barclay, 3o, C. 4 (V. P.). 

t Spond., 904, i., 985. Bruys, ii., 265, '>.71. Vig- 
nier, ii., 608 (V. P.). 



HER ANTIQUITY. 



mistress, and perishing by poison, which 
his sub-deacon had placed in the cup of 
the Eucharist ! 

In the twelfth century, Pascal II. caused 
the bones of the Emperor Henry IV. to be 
dug up, and left exposed on the surface of 
the graveyard for five years ' 



33 

Whether I am blinded by prejudice or 
whether the habit which I have contracied 
of always distrusting the pretensions of 
the Church of Rome clouds my mind, I 
know not ; but I am unable to recognize 
or even perceive any of the characteristics 
of truth in that harmony or consistency of 



In the thirteenth century, Adrian V., son principles which the Church of Rome de- 



of Pope Innocent IV., was elected pope 
without having even been a priest. 

In the fourteenth century, Boniface 

VIII. denied the immortality of the soul, 

and, being accused by King Philip (le Bel) 

' of heresy, magic, simony, murder, and 

other enormities, died in despair. 

In the fifteenth century, John XXIII., a 
consummate villain, was obliged to confess, 
before the Council of Constance, the most 
atrocious and infamous crimes, the most 
detestable impurity, simony, piracy, mur- 
der, etc., etc. In the same century, we 
see Sixtus IV. making light of conspira- 
cies, assassinations, treasons, and perfidy ; 
establishing and protecting public places 
of debauchery in Rome, the tribute of 
which increased the revenues of the Holy 
See by 20,000 ducats yearly, and to which 
he himself resorted for prostitution ! ! We 
see the abominable Borgia (Alexander VI.) 
combining in himself the most execrable 
crimes } adultery, incest, assassinations, 
sins contrary to nature, and innumerable 
rapines and perfidies. He had four sons, 
lived in incest with his daughter Lucretia, 
who lived in the same manner with her 
brothers ; and, finally, he perished by poi- 
son, which he had prepared for one of his 
victims. We see— But enough, reader. 
The Word of God is ratified. It is not in- 
fallibility, but the blackness of moral death 
that rests upon sMch men. Their cause is 
more than determined. They have de- 
spised the Lord ; they would not know him, 
and, accordingly, as it is written, " God 
gave them up to uncleanness, through the 
lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their 
own bodies,"* 

And if, by one of those " depths of Sa- 
tan," of which He " who hath his eyes 
like unto a flame of fire,"t speaks, any 
one, notwithstanding the evidence of these 
abominations, should reply, as I have heard 
advanced, " that the character of the popes 
must be very firm, and the Church of Rome 
be certainly true, as both exist notwith- 
standing these crimes ;" if, I say, any one 
reasons thus, I would ask him if the priests 
of the infamous idol Juggernaut, in Hin- 
dostan, may not justly reason in the same 
way, while practicing the same crimes and 
the same pollutions ! 

But I have further heard it said that the 
infallibility of the popes belongs to their 
charge and oflice, and not to their persons. 
We will presently briefly examine the 
character and security of this subterfuge. 



Rom., i., 24. 
E 



t Rev., ii., 18, 24. 



sires to exhibit ; I cannot discern in her in- 
dividual doctors, nor in her councils alone, 
nor in her popes separated from the coun- 
cils, nor in her councils presided over bj'' 
popes, either that unity of faith of which the 
Scriptures speak, or that infallibility and 
permanency which the Holy Spirit gives to 
the truth, both of which flow from the at- 
tributes of the Lord Jesus. Such is my 
judgment. The reader can compare it with 
his own. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ANTIQUITY, CATHOLICISM, AND MIRACLES OP 
THE CHURCH OF ROME. 

To prove that she is truly the Church 
of Christ, and she alone, Rome further ad- 
duces her antiquity, her prosperity, her ex- 
iensian throughout the world, her miracles^ 
and the prophecies which confirm her, and 
her jealousy for the authority with which 
God has endowed her. 

^ 1. ANTIQUITY. 

"God is more ancient than the devil," 
says Bellarmine ;* " and in the parable of 
the field, the grain was sowed before the 
tares ;t therefore, in the world, the Church 
of God, which is the good grain, and which 
is the Church of Rome, existed before any 
other church." 

I must confess that this argument, strong 
as the Latin Church may deem it, makes 
no other impression on my mind than that 
of the ridiculous. 

" However, facts speak for themselves," 
resumes the Church. " I can prove that I 
extend back from age to age as far as 
Moses, Noah, Seth, and Adam himself. 
Besides, every thing in me is so ancient, so 
much the same in all ages, that no one can 
designate the epoch of the origin of my 
doctrines and my customs ; therefore I 
have always existed."! 

Then we must conclude, I reply, that no 
one among you knows when Pope Zozimus 
first tried to raise the See of the Bishop of 
Rome above that of other bishops (420) ; 
nor when the invocation of the Virgin Mary 
had its birth (450) ; nor when Boniface III. 
bought the title of Universal Bishop of the 
tyrant Phocas (606) ; nor when the wor- 
ship of pictures was introduced (601), and 
afterward sanctioned (786, >42) ; nor when 
celibacy was imposed on the priests, by 



* De Verbo Dei, lib. iv., c. 5. t Matt., xili., 24. 
± Rhen. Ann. in Act. xxviii , s. 5, It. in Joh., ii., 
sect. 9. BelL, De Eccles., iv., 5 (W.). 



34 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



Nicholas, then by Alexander II., and finally 
by Gregory VII. (1070) ; nor when the 
different ceremonies of Mass were suc- 
cessively imagined, added, and finally com- 
pleted (420, 530, 730, 1090) ; nor when the 
Councilor Constance decreed that the com- 
munion should be taken in only one kind 
(1431) ; nor when the traffic of indulgences 
was invented (1099), and afterward carried 
to its ultimate extent (1520), etc., etc. ! ! 

^ 2. CATHOLICISM OF THE CHURCH OF ROME. 

" However that may be," the Church of 
Rome resumes, " I, and I alone, am the 
Catholic or universal Church, par excellence. 
What other church has taken and borne 
that name 1 And what other" church merits 
it like me, for in every place are found my 
altars, my incense, and my authority ?"* 

So, then, I reply, neither the primitive 
Church under the Patriarchs, nor the 
Church under the Law, nor the Church in 
the days of our Saviour on earth, nor the 
Church of the hundred and twenty disci- 
ples at Jerusalem; nor the churches at 
Phillippi, Antioch, Thessalonica, Ephesus, 
nor Corinth, nor the Church of Galatia, 
nor the churches of the Hebrews spread 
abroad, nor, above all, those that assembled 
either at Aquilas, Rome, Nymphas, nor 
Colosse — that none of these churches, 
from the least to the greatest, was of the 
Universal Church, because none among the 
whole of them ever took to itself alone the 
so much boasted title of Catholic ! 

Moreover, the creed called the Apostles' 
must be very defective in the declaration, 
" I believe in the Holy Universal (Catholic) 
Church ;" for it should have said, " I see, 
(and not I believe in) the Holy Church ;" and 
it should have added, " And it is in Rome 
that I see it ;" lest any one should ima- 
gine that it is hy faith, and not by sight, that 
the Church of Christ, " whose kingdom is 
not of this world," should be seen and rec- 
ognized. 

Again, it follows that in all ages, and 
every where on earth, those multitudes of 
souls who have received the words that 
the Father has given the Son ; who have 
believed the testimony of God concerning 
Jesus ; who have submitted to the Saviour, 
and have served. Him; and who have ac- 
complished the work of faith and the labor 
of charity ; w^ho have made profession of 
being strangers here below, and of travel- 
ing toward the heavenly country ; who 
have persevered in the truth until the end, 
by keeping the good deposit of faith ; who 
have left this world under the guidance 
and consolation of the staff and crook of 
the good Shepherd ; and who, in every way, 
have shown that they had the unction of 
the Holy Spirit on them, and lived by 
Christ and for Him — all these souls, all 



* Bellarmine, De notis Ecdesias, lib. iv,, c. 4. 
Rhem. Annot. in Act., xi., 4. 



these believers, all these faithful, have not 
been members of the Universal Church, the 
body of Christ, the family of the children 
of God ! ! 

What a mistake, then, I add, according 
to you (Rome), has the Scripture made, 
when it speaks of every believer being the 
temple of the Spirit of God, a living stone 
of the building of the Lord, a citizen of 
heaven, a holy priest, an heir of all things, 
even a co-heir with Christ ! 

THE CONTRARY TESTIMONY. 

What mistakes the fathers and the doc- 
tors of the Romish Church also made, or, 
rather, what nonsense and absurdities they 
spoke, when they wrote, preached, or taught 
in the following terms : 

Tertullian. " It is the Spirit that collects 
that Church which God has established in 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 
Also, a number of souls that agree in this 
faith, is considered as a Church by Him 
who made and consecrated it. The Church, 
then, is the Spirit acting by the spiritual 
man, and not the multitude of bishops."* 

Basil. " All those who beheve in Christ 
form one people ; for those who are of 
Christ are but one same Church, though 
they be assembled in various places."! 

Chrysostom. " It is spiritual, and not ma- 
terial things, that are said of the Church ; 
for sometimes she is called a Spouse, at 
others a Daughter, now a Virgin, then a 
Servant, and, again, a Queen ; as, also, she 
is said to be sometimes fruitful, and at 
other times sterile. It is, therefore, by 
the Scriptures, and not by temples or 
multitudes, that the Church is known ; for 
it is in the Scriptures only that God has 
placed her true marks. Look, then, at 
what the Scripture says of her."J 

Hilary. " You look for the Church in the 
magnificence of edifices, as if t\ie assem- 
bly of the faithful consisted in that. Ah \ 
the mountains, and the forests, and the 
chains, and the prisons, and the deseris" 
[Reader ! you know where the churches 
of France and of the valleys took refuge, 
and where irons and bolts bound fast so 
many disciples of Jesus ; " they," says the 
Holy Word, " of whom the world was not 
worthy !"<^], are more hkely to disclose her, 
for the prophets also hid themselves and 
prophesied there. "II 

Jerome. " What folly it would be to think 
myself Catholic because that name is giv- 
en me ! It is upon my faith that I rely, 
and not on the word of a man. The mul- 
titude of those who are on thy side would 
prove that thou art a heretic, rather than a 
believer, for Jesus said to his own, ' Fear 

* Tertul., Oper. (edit. 1675), De Pudicitia. 

t Bas. (edit. 1712), Epist., 161. 

% Chrys.,ifom, in Psalmxliv. ; id., Horn, in Matt, 
xxiv., 49. 

() Heb., xi., 38. 

II Hilar., Com. Auxent. (The Staff of Faith, 178). 



CATHOLICISM. 



35 



not, little flock.'' Where true faith is found, 
there also is the Church. Fifteen or twen- 
ty years ago, the heretics possessed all the 
temples. But then the true Church was 
where faith was found. For the true tem- 
ple of Christ is the soul, and the Church is 
nothing else than the souls of those who be- 
lieve in Him. And it is thus that the Church, 
because of its eternal steadfastness in God, 
is called ' the pillar and ground of the 
Truth.' Mark it, then ! it is the assembly 
of the saints that forms the Church !"* 

Augustine. " It is not in the title of 
Catholic''' (which the Donatists usurped in 
their day also) " that we lay the founda- 
tion of our faith, but on the promises of 
God. The universal Church is the assem- 
bly of all those who have believed, or who 
will believe, in Jesus Christ, from Abel to 
the end of the world. She is not in this or 
that place ; she is in every place where be- 
lievers are found. "f 

Theodoret. " The door that leads to life 
is narrow. Who would not rather be of 
the little number that is saved, than of the 
multitudes that perish'? Who would not 
have preferred to be on the side of Ste- 
phen, who was put to death because of his 
faith, than on that of the band who stoned 
him ] Prefer, if thou wilt, the multitudes 
that perished by the Deluge ; as for me, 1 
would rather take refuge in the ark, though 
but eight persons are found there. "t 

Gregory of Nazianzen. " Were not the 
three hundred who lapped up the water in 
the time of Gideon, more estimable than the 
thousands who abandoned them 1 Those, 
then, who, defining the Church by the mul- 
titude, reproach us with our small number, 
or our poverty, do not consider that the 
sand, however numerous its particles, is 
less valuable than a few precious stones."*^ 

What " false, dangerous, and perverse" 
opinions, the Council of Trent will say. 
Nevertheless, they are those of the very 
fathers whom it acknowledges as ortho- 
dox, and these same opinions are advanced 
and sanctioned even by a pope ! 

Nicholas I. " What matters the smallness 
of the number, provided piety is found in 
their midst ? What is the multitude worth,, 
if irreligion abounds among them 1 Do not 
flatter yourselves, then, on being of the 
multitude ; it is not the "lufnber, but the 
right, that condemns or absolves. "1| 

But, reader, why here recall the testimony 
of men who are no longer on earth, while 
those who now people it show us so evi- 
dently that neither antiquity, extension, num- 
hers, prosperity, nor power, are of them- 
selves proofs of truth and divinity "? Cer- 



* Hieron., Adv. Pelag., lib. iii., in Psalm cxxxiii. ; 
Id., in Psalm Ixxxvi. ; Id., Comm. in Job, c. xxvii. ; 
Id., Hom. in Cantic. Cant. 

t Aug., Epist., 48 (W.) ; Id., in Psalmhin. and xc. 
(T. C). t Theod., teste Photio (T. C). 

6 Greg. Naz., Orat, xxv. (Ibid.). 

II Nicol. I., ad Mich. Imp. (T. C). 



tainly, the idolatries of the Chinese (not 
to speak either of the Mohammedans, or 
of the savage hordes and tribes of Indians 
and of Negroes) are assuredly of great 
antiquity ; they have existed, also, without 
interruption, for they are spread over the 
whole surface of an immense empire, and 
immense wealth sustains their authority 
and their autocratical dominion. Besides, 
it is usually on those characteristics, as 
well as on their unity, that the lamas and 
bonzes rely in their conflicts with the 
Christians. They make their rehgion as- 
cend to Peleg, grandson of Noah. Their 
institutions and customs, they say, com- 
menced with the world, and there are no 
other celestial ones under the sun. As to 
the magnificence of their worship, the opu- 
lence of their church, the prosperity and 
number of their temples and the Avorship- 
ers who go to them, and the holiness, in- 
fallibility, and perpetual succession of their 
sovereign pontiffs (for they make use of 
these very expressions in speaking of the 
grand lama), they are certainly much above 
all the pomp and grandeur that Gregory 
VII. himself can display ; for that pope 
was never surrounded and served, as the 
Pontiff of Thibet is, by 20,000 priests of 
every rank and dignity. The reputation 
of holiness and infallibility of the most hon- 
ored Pope of Rome never approached those 
that the worshipers of the lama attribute 
to him, and never did the bulls of the " Vic- 
ars of Jesus Christ" have the authority 
which attends the immediate execution of 
the single word or nod of the Pontiff of Pa- 
toH, "the eternal father of the heavens." 

Yet, notwithstanding all this, if one of 
the priests or bishops of the Church of 
Rome were to argue with one of the bon- 
zes or lamas, he would, doubtless, refuse 
to conclude, from that antique antiquity, 
that profusion of riches, the splendor of 
tAe court of the Delai-Lama, and the vast 
dominion of his authority, that his religion 
is the true one, and that every other, and 
in particular that of Rome, being less an- 
cient, less pompous, less admired, and, 
above all, less extensive, should humble 
itself before him and give him the glory. 

Why, then, should we use in defense of 
the Truth the same arguments by which 
falsehood supports itself T and if, just as 
she is at present, the Church of Rome is 
of God, what need has she, in defending 
herself, to have recourse to that which is 
the strength of idolaters ? 

The pagans and the Jews also boasted, 
in opposing Jesus and his apostles, of the 
antiquity, the firmness, and the perpetuity oJ 
their religions, and they boldly ridiculed 
the novelty of the Gospel.* " What," said 
they, " is this new doctrine ? Our fathers 
worshiped in this mountain. May we 
know what this new doctrine whereof thou 
* Mark, i., 27. John, iv., 20. Acts, xviii., 19. 



36 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



speakest is?" I ask, then, again, What 
profit can there be in the repetition of such 
reproaches, or in the pride of such preten- 
sions ] The Fathers have taken care nev- 
er to advance them. They knew and 
maintained that the Church of Jerusalem, 
Avhere St. Peter first taught; that of Anti- 
och, where it is said he taught for seven 
years ; and those of Alexandria and Con- 
stantinople, were, some of them more an- 
cient, and others cotemporary with that of 
Rome. They spoke of the antiquity of du- 
ration as follows : 

" Those," says Justin Martyr, " who pre- 
fer custom to the truth, are fools."* " Our 
antiquity,^'' says Ignatius, " and the treasure 
of our charter, is Jesus Christ. "f " Neither 
men, nor the times, nor the authority of the 
great, nor privileges," says TertuUian, " can 
bring any prescription against the truth ; as 
it is usually ignorance and stupidity that, 
in the course of time, strengthen and estab- 
lish themselves against God. Besides, our 
Lord has not said, /am custom, but he said, 
I am the truth^X " The pagans," adds an- 
other Father, " boast of their antiquity ; as 
if antiquity or ancient custom gave any value 
to the truth ! But this is the way the devil 
acts ; he recommends deception under the 
name of antiquity. For thieves and adul- 
terers can also boast of their antiquity."^ 

And what does Cyprian say ? " It is not 
by duration of time that the authority of re- 
ligion is measured. "II What say TertuUian 
and Jerome, moreover, respecting the re- 
proach of novelty brought against the truth, 
when it reappears in the midst of error T 
As Chrysostom and Augustine said that 
*' the Church in a time of calamity disap- 
peared, and was then discovered only by the 
Holy Scriptures ;" that " she was sometimes 
eclipsed, as the sun. moon, and stars ; and 
that it also happened that her mbmbers 
might be scattered,"*!^ so TertuUian says 
that " the Church is then found in one or 
two members." " For," says Jerome, " it is 
not in the walls of a temple, but in the truth 
of doctrines, that the Church is inclosed."** 

Yes, reader, in that consists the true 
antiquity of the Church. And the Church 
of Rome ought to know it, for one of her 
Decretals tells her, that " when the truth 
shows itself, custom ought to yield it the 
precedency ;" and one of her popes adds, 
that " antiquity without the truth is but the 
old age of error. "ff Let me, tiierefore, be 

*• Just. Mart., In Tryphone. 

t Ignat., Epist. ad Philad. 

t Terlul., De Virg. vd. (Le Capucin Ref., p. 694) 

i) Hie est mos diaboticus, ut per antiquitafis traducem 
commcndetur fallacia. Possunt etiam latrones et adul- 
teri pro se antiquitatem adferre. — Augustine, Vet. et 
Nov. Testam. qucest., 114. || Cont. Gent., lib. ii. 

% Chrys., in Matth., xxiv. August., Ep., 28, ad 
Vine. ; Ep , 80, ad Hesych. 

** Hieron., in Ps. cxxxiii. 

+t Decrel., pt. i., dist. viii., c. iv. Gregor. I., De- 
cret., Ub. i., 5 (W., 64). 



told, Christ is there, by his Word and Spirit ; 
and in the language of Ignatius, the disci- 
ple of St. John, "I prefer it to the most 
ancient monuments."* But if Christ be 
wanting, if His Word is unknown, or crush- 
ed and scattered by tradition, errors, or 
continual contradictions, I lament an an- 
tiquity so unfortunate, and desire for her 
what the Lord gave in the sixteenth cen- 
tury to many of his afflicted churches, that 
renovating and purifying spirit which has 
been justly called the Reformation. 

But, finally (for I have already said a 
few words respecting it elsewheref), if 
we must, indeed, show antiquity, who can 
better do it than the churches of the East, 
who have never had any connection with 
the papal Church of Rome, which arose 
long after them 1 Who can present a more 
just claim to it than those churches of the 
Bible spread over Germany, France, in the 
valleys of Piedmont, and other places, who 
trace their origin back to the apostolical 
days, and who never knew what it was to 
obey a Romish pope or council 1 

It is a puerile question, then, which is 
asked even by persons of more than ordi- 
nary intelligence, "Where was the Prot- 
estant religion previous to the Reform- 
ers 1" " It was with us," answer numerous 
churches in various nations ; "for the Bible 
was with us, which we have possessed 
since the earliest Gospel days ; because 
the Church of Christ is Christ himself, in 
the Word, in the sacraments, and in char- 
ity, and we have possessed those divine 
marks.'''' 

It is true, some of those churches add, 
that they were neither the most numerous, 
nor the most honored and prosperous in 
their respective countries, but they existed, 
nevertheless, and were so well known that 
not only their name was a by- word among 
the nations, but the world in every place 
combined, under the instigation, or by 
the orders of the Church of Rome, to an- 
t^oy and torture them ; and by aU possible 
means endeavored to take the Book of 
God from them. And why? Because Rome 
well kiiP.w, though she feigns the contrary, 
that the Church of God is with the Word 
of God, and if there were but two or three 
of his disciples assembled, Jesus is never- 
theless with them, and that with Him 
alone is the true Church. Reader, is not 
this answer mor^ than sufficient? Those 
who, from the very bosom of the Church 
of Rome, were led to embrace the pure 
Gospel, can answer this question by ask- 
ing, emphatically, " Where was the gold 
of the ore before the fire of the crucible 
separated it from the dross ?" 



* Epistle to the Philadelphians . 

t The Divine Rights of Protestantism maintained 
on the Foundation of the Eternal Truth of God. Ge- 
neva, 1838. 



MIRACLES AND PROPHECIES. 



37 



^ 3. MIRACLES AND PROPHECIES OF THE CHURCH 
OF ROME. 

" And are my prophecies and miracles, 
then," the Church of Rome resumes, " but 
dross, and impure refuse?" " Do not the 
Holy Scriptures declare that prodigies will 
accompany the Truth ; and have not proph- 
ecies and glorious miracles been seen, with- 
out interruption, since the apostles to this 
day, confirming my doctrines, my worship, 
and authority, and thus showing, in the 
face of your pretended Reformation (which 
never produced such evidences), that I am 
of divine origin]"* 

The Candidate. " Am I, then, to receive 
the ' Life of the Saints,' and the ' Golden 
Legend,' as the seal and testimony of 
God V 

The Church of Rome. " That which Je- 
sus Christ said of himself, he said also of 
me, his Spouse : ' If ye believe not me 
(when I say I am of God), believe the 
works that I do.' "f 

The Candidate. " If that is so, tell me 
what your works are." 

The Church of Rome (taking a huge book 
and reading). " St. Dominic, the Con- 
fessor, and the founder of the order that 
bears his name, received numberless testi- 
monies from God of his heavenly mission. 
In the beginning, similar to Jesus Christ in 
all things, like him, also, he issued from 
the bosom of the Father, for — "| 

The Candidate. " Stay ! that is blasphe- 
my !" 

The Church of Rome. " Say, rather, that 
you are unbelieving ; for listen to the proof" 
(she reads) : " St. Catharine of Sienna, in 
a miraculous vision, saw the eternal Fa- 
ther, who produced from His mouth His 
only and beloved Son ; and as she waited 
for the sequel of the vision, she distinctly 
saw the most blessed patriarch Dominic, 
who was produced from the bosom of the 
Father, and surrounded by a shining light !" 

The Candidate. "I repeat it — these are 

BLASPHEMIES !" 

The Church of Rome. " Be more docile. 
The book which I hold is authentic. Four 
Jesuits, all priests, compiled it, and the ap- 
probation of the Censor positively declar&s 
that ' all that this book contains is con- 
formable to faith and holiness.'^ What 
would you wish more formal and decisive V 
She reads: "Now, as St. Catharine was 
in great wonder, she heard the mouth of 
the eternal Father pronounce these words : 
' It is I, beloved daughter, who have begot- 
ten to myself these two sons ; the one, by 
the generation of nature ; the other, by the 



* Bellarin., De Ecdes., lib. iv., c. 14 and 15. 

t John, X., 38. 

t Acta Sanct. Aug.. torn. i. Coll. a Joh. Bapt. 
Solleris, etc., Antverpias, 1733. 

<^ Approb. Ordinarii, In quibus nihil occurrit quod 
non consonel fidei et bonis moribus. Ita testor Ant- 
verpicB, 25 Julii, 1733. F. G. TJllens, presb. can. 
schol. offic. et lib. censor. 



tender adoption of my love. And be not 
too much surprised by this prodigy, but see 
and understand that, as one of my sons, 
who took upon himself human nature, 
obeyed me perfectly in all things, and nev- 
er announced any thing to the world but 
my words ; in the same manner Dominic, 
my son by adoption, never once sinned 
since his baptism ; he kept his body pure 
and spotless ; he continually preached my 
truths, both among Catholics, and against 
heretics and impious persons ; and still 
every day, by this Order, which he insti- 
tuted for my glory, he gains and saves 
souls, just as much as my incarnate Son.' " 

The Candidate (stopping his ears, and ex- 
claiming). " You blaspheme ; yes, you 
blaspheme against the Holy Ghost !" 

The Church of Rotne (unmoved, and in- 
viting the candidate to hear her farther). 
" I assure you, still, that you are guilty of 
the hardihood and malice of the Jews, 
when Stephen spoke to them. For these 
are histories which I attest as true ; and 
which I cause to be read, taught, preached, 
and studied in all my colleges, seminaries, 
convents, and congregations ; it would, 
therefore, be nothing less than viliany, and 
the vilest impudence, for my clergy, both 
regular and secular, to revere and transmit 
such recitals to the people, from genera- 
tion to generation, if they were not true, 
if they were not divine." 

The Candidate. " But must I admit those 
infamous falsehoods to be true V 

The Church of Rome (quite ingeniously). 
" Charity believeth all things, and thinketh 
no evil ;" " and faith is never so great and 
so pure (as I have already told you) as 
when the intellect is humbled. And, at all 
events, believe me, it would not be a very 
easy thing to say to a whole denomination, 
as numerous and respectable as mine, that 
it is but an assembly of liars and cheats, 
on the one hand, and of stupid fanatics on 
the other. A person should be very sure 
of the facts, to utter so ignominious and 
severe a reproach against me." 

The Candidate. " But not when the facts 
are such as compose this infamous vision !" 

The Church of Rome. "As your faith is 
still too weak for so great a mystery, be- 
lieve, at least, facts more simple, but no less 
miraculous ; for instance (she reads) : ' This 
same Dominic, sitting with some breth- 
ren near a window, was preaching to 
some sisters assembled before the house, 
when Satan, the enemy of the human race, 
having taken the form of a sparrow, be- 
gan to fly near and around those women, 
to divert them, and keep them from listen- 
ing to the saint. But the latter, having 
recognized the devil, ordered one of the 
sisters to catch the bird. Upon which, the 
woman, having taken it without difficul- 
ty, gave it to Dominic, who immediately 
plucked off its feathers one by one, say- 



38 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



ing to it, without regarding its cries, " Oh, 
enemy ! enemy !" Then, having entirely 
plumed it, amid the laughter of all the 
sisters, he released it, saying, " Fly, now, 
enemy of the human race ! Fly if thou 
canst V'* You must acknowledge that here 
I come within the comprehension of even 
little children." 

The Candidate. " Are such the things 
Avhich you call miracles^ and which you 
bring forward to your own credit V 

The Church of Rome. " These are only 
two examples. My miracles and prophe- 
cies are innumerable. Each of my saints, 
of both sexes (and you know I have not a 
few), have performed multitudes of them, 
or have been the object of them ; and, as 
3'ou listen so patiently, I will — " 

The Candidate. " Spare yourself any 
farther fatigue ; for I must declare, not- 
withstanding the pain it may cause so 
many persons (otherwise respectable) who 
obey you, that I reject and abhor both your 
miracles and your prophecies, as so many 
fables, foolish superstitions, or base and 
criminal juggleries. And, if you wish to 
know the reason, here it is : 

" In the first place, as the Lord Jesus 
predicted that ' false Christs' and ' false 
prophets,' who would arise after Him, 
' would show great signs and wonders ; in- 
somuch that, if it were possible, they would 
deceive the very elect'' (Matth., xxiv., 24) ; 
and as, according to the reports of Clement 
the Roman, Justin Martyr, Ireneeus, and 
St. Augustine, the magician Simon, the 
heretic John Mark, and the Donatists, 
for a long time gloried in their prodigies 
and prophecies, like the magicians of Pha- 
raoh in the days of Moses,t and like the 
priests of the corrupt religion of the Greeks 
and Romans, the Indians and savages, as 
well as Mohammed, I can on no account 
admit such proof. I, indeed, see Moses and 
the prophets, and then the Lord Jesus and 
the apostles, confirming their heavenly 
mission by prophecies and miracles. But 
I hear them, under the same circumstan- 
ces, announcing the words of the Lord 
and the message of the Father, and de- 
claring that if there arise among the peo- 
ple a prophet who should give a sign or a 
wonder, and he should speak unto them, 
saying, Let us go after other gods ; they 
should not hearken unto the words of that 
prophet, but that he should be put to death, 
because he would have turned them from 
the Lord their God.| 

" It is not, then. Church of Rome, the mir- 
acle that constitutes the doctrine ; but (if 
you will see and hear it) it is the doctrine, 
the Word of God, the Truth, which accom- 

* Acta amphora S. Dominici Cotifes., Die quarta 
August!, c. 15 (R. C). 

t Clem. Rom., lib. ii., recogn. Just. Mart., Qucest., 
y. et C. Iran., lib. i., c. 9. August., In Johann., tract. 
13. X Deut., xiii., 1-5. 



panies and sanctions the miracle and the 
prophecy : and which is confirmed by it in 
its turn. If you doubt this, hear and at- 
tend to the following declaration : ' The 
coming of the man of sin, the son of per- 
dition,' says the Holy Word, ' is after the 
working of Satan, with all power, and signs^ 
and lying wonders, and with all deceiv- 
ableness of unrighteousness in them that 
perish ; and for this cause God shall send 
them a strong delusion, that they should 
believe a lie.'* You understand, do you 
not 1 vSeduction and falsehood accompany 
the false signs, as the truth of God is found 
with true miracles. You see, also, I think, 
that ' man of sin,' who ' sitteth in the tem- 
ple of God,' and abounds in signs and won- 
ders. You will also permit me to tell you 
that, as long as your miracles (even were 
they of quite a different nature from those 
absurdities and blasphemies which you 
have just quoted) are not united with the 
Truth of God, they are nothing but false- 
hood, and, very probably, the works proph- 
esied of the ' man of sin,' the ' son of 
perdition.' 

CONTRARY TESTIiMONY. 

" Although you may attribute what I 
have said to ignorance or unbelief, I need 
not fear, since, independently of the Holy 
Scriptures, upon which I found my belief, 
several of the Fathers, and even of your 
own doctors, encourage me in my rejec- 
tion of your miracles, and confirm my 
views. ' Formerly,' say Chrysostom and 
Augustine, ' miracles were useful, because 
the truth was to be established ; but now 
they are so little necessary, that he who, 
to believe, asks for a prodigy, is himself a 
prodigy of unbelief ; for miracles are for 
infidels, and not for those who love Jesus 
Christ.' 

" ' We also recognize as ministers of 
Christ, not those who work miracles, but 
those who do not work them ; for now, as 
there can be no other proof of Christianity 
than the Holy Scriptures, miracles have 
ceased ; or, if there be any, they are found 
only among false Christians.'! 

" Tertullian and Jerome are no less de- 
cided, when they remark that ' one would 
have reason to believe that the heretics, 
with their abundance of signs and miracles, 
are true apostles, were it' not evident that 
they are among those impostors of whom 
the Saviour has prophesied, and who, at 
the last day, will receive this terrible male- 
diction from the infallible judge, ' I know 
you not. 'J 

" ' No,' add Augustine, Theodoret, and 
Theophylact, ' let it not be said that such a 



* 2 Thess., ii. 

t Chrys., In Joh., hom. 23. Auth. Oper. imp., 
Com. in Matth., xxiv., hom. 49. August., De Civ. Dei, 
lib. xxii., c. 8. 

X TertulL, De prcBscrip,, 41. Hieron., In epist. ad 
Gal., cap. 3. 



ZEAL AND FIDELITY, 



39 



doctrine is true because such or such a 
man has worked miracles, or has received 
an answer to certain prayers, or has had 
some marvelous dream or vision. Away 
with all such things ; they are fictions of 
lying men, or prodigies of depravity ; for 
how many have worked miracles, who 
preached falsehood ! Their prodigies were 
not of God ! Of what avail are miracles, 
if their authors teach falsehood V* 

" Church of Rome ! were these Fathers 
ignorant or unbelieving, that they should 
thus contradict you \ Again, is it acci- 
dental that even some of your own doctors 
join them in saying that ' these miracles 
and visions that are feigned by certain 
priests, or their followers, and that even 
some popes have rashly believed, trouble 
and divide the Church, and should be extir- 
pated from it, as the miracles of Baal were 
by the prophets'?' 'For,' they add, 'if 
God allows these impostures, it is for the 
trial of the good and the chastisement of 
the impious. But let believers be on their 
guard. 't 

" This is their testimony ; and as they 
are here on the side of the Scriptures, 1 
am with them ; and if now, as in the time 
when the Lord Jesus was on earth, ' the 
perverse and adulterous generation asks a 
sign,' the Church demands the Holy Scrip- 
tures, and adheres to them, because, as the 
Law of God was confirmed by miracles 
which accompanied its publication, so, 
also, the Gospel received the divine seal 
by the prophecies and mighty works of 
Jesus Christ and his apostles, which re- 
main forever." 



CHAPTER V. 

2EAL AND FIDELITY OF THE CHURCH OF ROME 
FOR THE CONVERSION OF SOULS AND THE 
EXTIRPATION OF HERESIES. 

The Church of Rome. " Well, then ! if 
my miracles affect thee so httle, certainly 
my zeal and jealousy for the glory of God 
and the triumph of the faith will overcome 
thy opposition ; and my victories over in- 
fidels and heretics will compel thee to 
confess that I alone am of God, as it is to 
me alone that He has given his sword, and 
the right to use it. "J 

The Candidate. " A sword, do you say 1 
A sword with which you must strike ! Is 
such the zeal of God and the fidelity which 
His Spirit teaches V 

The Church of Rome. " When Jehu, the 
servant of the Lord, executed the orders 
of the Most High, in exterminating the 



house of Ahab and the followers of Baal, 
at the very moment when he had just mur- 
dered the forty-two brethren of Ahaziah, 
he met Jehonadab, son of Rechab, on his 
way, and taking him in his chariot, he said, 
' Come with me, and see my zeal for the 
Lord.' And it was at that time that he 
made the blood of the idolaters flow like 
water, and destroyed their temple and 
their idols ; and it is written, ' the Lord 
blessed him.' I would also say to thee, 
Come, and I will show thee what I, His 
faithful Church, have done on earth in past 
ages for the triumph of the faith, and how 
I, the spouse and the dove of Jesus Christ, 
have been jealous for His glory, and have 
served Him far better than Jehu ever 
did.'"* 

The Candidate. " The Lord Jesus is 
meek and lowly of heart ; and it is by love 
and compassion that His Gospel wins 
souls. Is it thus you have served Him V 

The Church of Rome. " It is w^ritten of 
the Head of the Church that ' he will tread 
on the asp and on the dragon,' that ' He 
will break the nations with a rod of iron, 
like a potter's vessel, and will make the 
blood of many nations to flow ;' and that 
power has been given to me, and I have 
had to make my adversaries feel it. I am 
queen among the nations. My dominion 
extends, by divine right, over the whole 
human race ; and if there are any among 
men who have forgotten my empire, those 
deserters are nevertheless my subjects, 
and I should, by all possible means, con- 
strain them to return to my bosom, the 
only place where their salvation is found."t 

The Candidate. " What ! do you say 
that the human race is the domain of 
Rome, and that they should be brought 
into subjection to her by the force of 
arms .?" 

The Church of Rome. " God wills it 
thus ; and therein is His love. ' I will 
give thee,' He said to me, ' the heathen for 
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts 
of the earth for thy possession ;'J and He 
has given me the order to constrain them 
to enter. If, then, it must be done, I am 
faithful and obedient to Him, in forcing 
souls to be saved, even by chastisements 
and punishment."^ 

The Candidate. " The Lord Jesus, how- 
ever, sharply reproved those of his disci- 
ples who manifested such a spirit." 

The Church of Rome. " It was through 
anger and revenge that James and John 
wished to make fire fall from heaven on 
the city that refused to receive their Mas- 



* Augnst., De Unit. Eccl, c. 16. Theoph., In Luc., 
ix., V. 2. Theod., In Deut., quaest. 2. 

t Gerson, In tract, de exam., doctr. Lyranus, In 
■Dan., c. xiv. Ferus, In Matth., xxiv., 24. 

t Bellarm., DeRom. Pontif.,iih. v. and vii., passim. 



* 2 Kings, X. 

f Non negandum tamen quin in eccle^ice potestate 
sint., Cat. Trid., 54. Ecclesia in eos jurisdictionem 
habet., Dens, ii., 80. t Ps- ii. 

^ Hoeret. sunt etiam corporaliter compellendi, A quin., 
ii., 48. Id., ii., 10, viii. Cogi possunt, etiam pcenis 
corporalibus, ut revertantur ad fidem, Dens {Dublin, 
1832 !), ii., 80. 



40 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



ter; but, as for me, when /have chastised 
rebellious children, I have done it for their 
good, and for the glory of the faith." 

The Candidate. "Nevertheless, He bla- 
med Peter for having struck with the sivord, 
and he condemned its use in his king- 
dom."* 

The Church of Rome. "Peter struck 
Malchus in a passion. If I strike, it is as 
s. judge, and for the cause of God." 

The Candidate. "Many Apostolical Fa- 
thers, however, have protested against any 
constraint in matters of faith ; I have even 
read somewhere, that the ancient Church 
of the first three centuries was unanimous 
in rejecting every thought of chastisement 
or persecution in this respect.f Was it 
not Origen who said that Christians should 
never make use of the sword 1 J Did not 
Tertullian write that it belongs not to reli- 
gion to constrain to religion?^ Did not 
Cyprian teach that none but the Son has 
the right to break in pieces the earthen va- 
ses, because none but He bears the scep- 
tre ]|| Did not Lactantius declare that bar- 
barity and piety are two things opposed to 
each other ; that the truth cannot be united 
with cruelty or violence ; and that it is in 
dying, and not in killings that the faith is 
defended '?*ff Were not such, also, the in- 
structions of Gregory, Athanasius, Chrysos- 
tom, Augustine, DamiaJi, and Anselm ? Did 
not Bernard also subsequently say, speak- 
ing of the heretics, ' Attack them with the 
Word, but not with the sword ]' and does 
not your angelic doctor, Thomas Aquinas, 
say, that ' if one kills a heretic, he takes 
away from him the possibility of repent- 
ance, and that this is contrary to the Scrip- 
tures, which would have men try to draw 
sinners from the snares of Satan V "** 

The Church of Rome. " He does say so ; 
but that infallible doctor also teaches (and 
by the knowledge of God), that if the her- 
etic does not submit to the first or second 
reproof, he should not only be excommu- 
nicated, but the Church must deliver him 
to the arm of human justice, that he should 
be punished with death. ' For,' says that 
man of God, ' if the sword of the magis- 
trate strikes the villain who steals money, 
which is but the support of perishable life, 
how much more should that sword strike 
him who steals the support of the soul, the 
truth !' Admirable words, which the very 
angels dictated to him, whom error never 
corrupted '.ff It is not in vain, therefore, 
as the Scripture says, that the magistrate 
bears the sword ; and as the right to wield 
it was given to me, when the Emperors of 



* Matth., xxvi., 51, 52. John, xviii., 10, 36. 
t Du Pin, 450. t Orig., Li Matth., xxvi., 25. 
(} Tertull., ad Scap., 69. 
II Cyprian, 100, Epist. 54. 
II Lact., v., 19. Bern., Serm., 64 (V. P.). 
** Aquin., Sum. Theol., pt. ii., Quaest. xi. 
tt Aquin., Secunda pars, Sum. Theolog. (Romae, 
1586). Quaest. xi., Art. iii., 93. 



Rome bent the knee before me, and in 
homage presented to me their sceptre, I, 
also, must judge the cause of God by the 
sword, for I am His Church, and His Vicar 
presides over me. If, then, murder and 
rapine are punished by human laws, much 
more ought my laws, entirely divine (and for 
that reason more terrible), to punish schism 
and heresy ; crimes a thousand times more 
heinous than homicide or pillage.* I have,, 
therefore, done so many a time." 

The Candidate. " You probably allude 
to those ages in which, under a Theodo- 
sius, a Constantius, a Valens, a Valentini- 
an, a Gratian, or a Honorius, different sects 
of Christians were oppressed or massa- 
cred in turn, and, as the history of those 
times states, were driven into obscurity 
like the wild beasts of the forest."t 

The Church of Rome. " Yes, God began 
even then to punish those who respected 
neither my authority nor my councils. 
What, then, was it necessary to do after- 
ward, when heresy vomited from hell 
such sects as the Paulicians, the Cathari^ 
the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and when, 
shortly afterward, the Wickhffites,the Hus- 
sites, and, finally, the Lutherans and Calvin- 
ists, dared to question the supremacy of 
St. Peter, the apostolical succession, the 
sovereignty that belongs to me, and the 
divinity of the dogmas that the Holy Spirit 
has dictated by my mouth? Was it not 
necessary that the charity of God should 
use even severer vengeance against those 
wandering souls ; and that the zeal of His 
Church, so justly excited, should be shown 
to the whole world, by those exemplary- 
chastisements with which / had to punish 
the guilty 1 Were not ' those furious 
wolves, those impure demons, the very 
sons of iniquity and falsehood ; serpents 
and vipers, whom neither the sword nor the 
flames should spare, when kindness and 
persuasion found them incorrigible V "J 

The Candidate. " It was, then, by your 
advice or authority that emperors and 
kings, councils and colleges, issued those 
edicts of proscription which excited these 
persecutions and massacres, in which cit- 
ies, provinces, and whole generations fell 
and perished." 

The Church of Rome. " My zeal for God 
has known no bounds, and (as it is written) 
1 hate his enemies with perfect hatred; 
I count them mine enemies.^ Hear farther 
what I have done to defend the faith, and, 
if still unconvinced, learn that I, and I 
alone, am the Church of Jesus Christ, she 
to whom all power is given on earth, and 
who says to thee. Come to me and be saved. 

" In the first place, I subdued kings and 



* Theophanes,42,45, 46. Codex Theod., xvi., tit. 5. 

t Ammian., xxii., 5. Chrysost., x., 632, Horn. 27. 

X Hi sunt lapi rapaces, etc DebitcB ultionis in- 

eos gladium exeramus ; decemamus, ut vivi in conspectu 
hominum comburantur. Labbe, xiv., 25, 26. Du Pin, 
ii., 486. ^ Ps. cxxxix., 22, 



HER ZEAL AND FIDELITY. 



il 



their councils, and made them swear, on 
pain of damnation, to exterminate all her- 
etics.* I canonized those of the doctors 
or popes who showed themselves the most 
zealous persecutors of heresy. I deci- 
ded that ' to kill an excommunicated per- 
son did not render any one guilty of mur- 
der. 'f 1 anathematized every one who 
was in any degree intimate with an enemy 
of the Church, and I promised heaven and 
all its happiness to every faithful person 
who helped me in my holy zeal.J The 
provincial synods obeyed me also, and 
those of Toledo, Oxford, Avignon, Tours, 
Montpelier, Narbonne, Albi, and Toulouse, 
excommunicated them, stripped them of 
their goods, banished, or made to perish by 
the sword or by fire, all those who refused 
to pay me their homage.^ 

" I went farther ; for, as I observed that 
the strength of that execrable heresy lay 
in that BiUe which the abettors of it studied 
continually, I redoubled my zeal against 
that dangerous book. I proscribed it, and 
condemned to prison, banishment, and even 
death, whosoever, man or woman, young 
or old, was found possessing or reading 
any part of it, and I condemned the Book 
itself to the flames throughout the extent 
of my domain, except in the hands of the 
priests. II My general councils sanction- 
ed all these pious measures. The second 
and third of Lateran excommunicated, by 
the grace of God, the Cathari of Gascony, 
of Albi, and of Toulouse, and gave them 
up to the execration of nations. They 
were seized and killed without pity, and 
their houses razed to the ground. "If 

" I did not grow weary. In 1245, the fourth 
General Council of Lateran, that of Con- 
stance, in 1418, that of Sienna, in 1423, the 
fifth of Lateran, in 1514, and, finally, that of 
Trent (1531), the most holy, the most faith- 
ful of all, redoubled (in emulation of each 
other) their pious efforts for the extermi- 
nation of the ' readers of the Bible,' those 
Albigenses, Waldenses, Reformed, Prot- 
estants, whom I hate more than the gates 
of hell, and whom I have, for many ages, 
tried in vain to bring back into the way 
of salvation. I was therefore forced to 
enjoin, through those councils, that all 
those heretics should be placed beyond the 
protection of law, and that a holy Crusade 
against them was the remedy determined 
by God, to cure the deep wounds which 
they had inflicted on me."** 



* Clem., ii., tit. 9. Bruys, ill., 373. aolo, i., 
103 (V. P.). 

t Pithou, 324. Aquin., ii., 11 ; iii., p. 48. 

X Labbe, xiv., 64. P. Benedict, i., 73 ; ii, 232. 
Bruys, iii., 13. 

<j Labbe, xiii., 287, 288. Alex., Hist., xx., 667. 

II Labbe, xiii., 1239. Alex., Hist., xx., 668. Mez- 
eray. Hist., ii., 810. Velly, iv., 133. 

% Labbe, xiii., 430. Binius, Hist, of Cone, viii., 662. 

** Crabbe, Concil, iii., 646. Bin., ii., 112. Labbe, 
xix., 844. Paolo, iv., 604. Labbe, xx., 195, 222 
(V. P.). 



The Candidate. " I have heard it said^ 
that if your general councils, and partic- 
ularly that of Trent, pronounced anathema 
against all heretics, and decreed that ' they 
should be destroyed by the sword, by fire, 
by the rope, or any other means,'* it was, 
however, not to your own zeal, but only to 
the arms of pnnces, to their soldiers and 
hangmen, that the administration of this 
' salutary remedy,' as you have called it, 
was intrusted. How was this, and how is 
it still, I pray ]" 

The Church of Rome. "It is not the 
hand of the warrior that strikes, it is his- 
sword ; but both act together. My gener- 
al councils, and my synods, were always 
one with the kings and judges who served 
them,t and on whom the weight of my ex- 
communication rested if they refused to 
execute my orders ; and, that no doubt 
might remain respecting the sincerity of 
my zeal on this important point, a good 
many holy fathers, and, among others. Ur- 
ban, Innocent, Clement, and Honorius, 
hurled with their own hands the bulls of 
persecution which my infallibility sanc- 
tioned, and unto which each believer is 
subject by his oath. J 

" I therefore approved Innocent III., and 
I rejoiced in him, w^hen, in the name of th& 
most holy Trinity, of the Blessed Virgin, 
and the holy apostles, Peter and Paul, he 
assembled half a million of soldiers to ex- 
terminate, without mercy, the abominable 
race of the Albigenses ; and when he gave 
plenary indulgence, and immediate en- 
trance into heaven, to those of the heroes 
of the Cross who might fall in that holy 
and celestial war.^ 

" At last, I was satisfied, when the zeal 
and piety of the Count of Montfort respond- 
ed to my wishes, and I saw that ' partner 
of the devil, that son of perdition, that eld- 
est son of Satan, that enemy of the Cross,' 
Raymond, Count of Toulouse, fall; he 
who had dared to protect against me those 
Albigenses, already cursed a thousand 
times."|| 

The Candidate. " But was it really by 
your orders that those sieges, pillages, mas- 
sacres, and all the barbarities that marked 
that epoch, took place V 

The Church of Rome. " Yes ; I took pleas- 
ure and gloried in those acts of my faith. 
Like Joshua, submissive to the order of 
God, who had interdicted that Jericho of 
heresy, I saw its walls fall down at my 
voice, and the sword accomplish all that I 
desired. The city of Beziers, the rampart 



* Fra Paol., iv., 604. Labbe, xx., 197. 

t Maynooth (Rom. Cath.), i^eporf (London, 1827), 
p. 82, 87, 251, 269. 

t V. P., p. 224. Labbe, xx., 222. 

^ Alex., Hist., 290, 307. Thuan., Hist., vi., 16. 
Benedict, Hist, of the Alb. and Wald., i., 79. Velly, 
Hist, of France, iii., 423. 

II Velly, Hist, of Fr., iii., 437. Mariana, Gen. 
Hist, of Spain, ii., 687. 



42 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



of my enemies, was taken by storm (1209), 
and none escaped, neither the trembling 
old men, nor the terrified mothers and 
wives, nor their unborn children, nor those 
they suckled, nor those who stretched forth 
their feeble hands to my soldiers."* 

The Candidate. " But did you not fear 
lest, in your impetuous ardor, you should 
strike those of your own worshipers who 
might be mingled with the people ?" 

The Church of Rome. " ' Kill them all !' 
exclaimed Arnold, my faithful missionary ; 
' God will know his own.' And more than 
fifty thousand of those rebels received their 
just punishment, and were sacrificed to the 
truth of the Catholic faith ; yea, even in 
their very churches where they had sought 
a refuge. t But nothing could convert 
those obstinate unbelievers. Retrenched 
in Lavaur, they compelled me, in 1211, to 
exercise anew my divine authority against 
them. It was necessary that that city 
also should fall, and that a population who 
despised me, the holy Church of Jesus 
Christ, should be annihilated with the most 
ruthless destruction. One hundred thousand 
Albigenses fell in different places in a sin- 
gle day. My indefatigable soldiers over- 
ran, during more than three months, the 
villages and the country, and their pious 
fury showed mercy neither to sex nor age, 
neither to the castles nor to the cottages. 
Thus, by this holy war, which I succeeded 
in prolonging during twenty years, I final- 
ly was able to deface, in several places, 
even the smallest traces of heresy, and of 
that Bible which had fomented it."t 

The Candidate. " Was your maternal 
heart unmoved by so much misery; by 
that deluge of blood, alas ! which flowed at 
your feet V 

The Church of Rome. '" God,' it is writ- 
ten, ' made all things for his glory, even 
the wicked for the day of destruction.' 
The glory of God is my glory, and I sound- 
ed a hymn of thanksgiving over the heaps 
of corpses that covered the soil of Lavaur 
and its environs. Early in the morning 
my crusaders, after having heard mass, 
went to their holy work, and after they 
had accomplished ' the judgments of God,' 
they returned to thank that almighty Virgin 
who had protected them.<^ It is true, I 
needed new measures to accomplish a work 
unheard of till then ; but I was not forsa- 
ken. He whose Spirit animated me made 
me fruitful, and at that time 1 produced 
first the tribunal of ' the Inquisition ;' after- 

* Thuan., vi., 16. 

t Velly, iii., 441. Mezeray, ii., 619. Thuan., i., 
222. A-lex., Hist., xx., 291. P. Benedict., i., 104. 

X Velly, Hist., ill., 454. P. Benedict I., 163. 
Daniel, Hit-t. of France, iii., 511, 527. Guiil. de 
Nangis, Ckron., 1210. Bruys, iii., 139, 141. Velly, 
iT., 121, 137 (V. P.). 

^ The clergy sang with much devotion the hymn Veni 
Creator. Velly, iii., 121, 454. Alex., xx., 317. Ma- 
Jiana, ii., 687. P. Benedict II., 139 (V. P.). 



ward the ' Society of Jesus,' both of which 
were thenceforth instruments, blessed of 
God in my hand, for the strengthening of 
his kingdom. Torture was the efficacious 
instrument of the holy tribunal, whose 
zeal and firmness extended no pity toward 
heresy. Upon the least suspicion, either 
of participating in the doctrines of the Al- 
bigenses, or of possessing and reading the 
Bible, the rebel was seized and carried 
away, and whatever was his age, sex, or 
even rank, he was stretched on the instru- 
ment of torture, or suspended by his dislo- 
cated arms, till he confessed his crime ; 
and as soon as he had confessed it, he was 
either thrown into ditches already filled 
with bones, or burned before the people in 
a holy auto-da-fe. The father was requir- 
ed to denounce his children to me, and the 
children their father ; and, so great was 
the terror that I knew how to inspire in 
families, that frequently the obedience of 
my faithful sons and daughters led them 
to deliver up to me their wives, husbands, 
brothers, sisters, as a sacrifice to the faith 
the most repulsive to their own nature."* 

The Candidate. "It was, then, that same 
Dominic, of whom you have already spo- 
ken, who conquered for you in that bloody 
crusade V 

The Church of Rome. " Yes, the true son 
of Him who judges righteously ; and obedi- 
ent to the command of Innocent III., the 
servant of God, he was prompt and effi- 
cient in the mission which I intrusted to 
him. With the crucifix in his hand, he in- 
cited my soldiers to spare no one; and 
when, by his miracles, he had convinced 
the unbelievers of his heavenly authority, 
he immediately threw them into the flames, 
so as to take from them every possibility 
of retracting, and thus losing their souls. 
My Breviary, also, celebrates the glory of 
that saint, whom I have placed in para- 
dise ; and my children seek, to this day, 
their salvation through the merits of that 
blessed confessor on whom God bestowed 
so many favors.f With what glory has 
that defender of the faith been crowned ! 
His portrait, which was sent from heaven 
itself to Suriano, in Calabria, in 1530 (that 
age of darkness in which heresy begat so 
many monsters), is still, by the prodigious 
miracles which it works, a daily and unde- 
niable monument of the eternal favor and 
holy approbation of God.| 

" But think not that my zeal for the 
faith was confined to Languedoc. The rest 
of France, Netherlands, Hungary, Ger- 
many, Poland, Spain, and even Italy, but, 
above all. Piedmont, also witnessed my 
deeds of piety, and every where the pris- 



« P. Benedict I., 248. Mariana, ii., 689. Gian- 
none, Hist, of Naples, xxxii., 5; xv., 4. 

t P. Benedict I., 248, 249. Mariana, ii., 689. Miss. 
Rom., 463. Rom. Brev., 906. 

X Aringhi, Roma Suhterranea, lib. v., c. 5. 



HER ZEAL AND FIDELITY. 



43 



ons of the Holy Office were crowded with 
heretics, of whom the sword and fire de- 
livered the earth, which they dishonored. 
Every where, also, my doctors, as well as 
my popes, my colleges, and my univers- 
ities, were unanimous in praising me, in 
blessing my celestial severity, and in en- 
couraging that divine indignation and re- 
venge against those who would have naught 
but the Bible, in contempt of my infallible 
decisions."* 

The Candidate. " Was that, indeed, the 
crime of the Waldenses of Piedmont, and 
of the people who, in various countries, 
held the same doctrines as those ancient 
tribes ?" 

The Church of Rome. " The wretches ! 
Did they not all prefer their Bible, or 
their 'noble lesson,' as they called it, to 
the favors that my clemency offered on 
the ground of their submission ; and was 
it not necessary, in order to wrest that 
Book from their hands, and their here- 
sies from their hearts, that the secular 
arm should be united to my anathemas T 
Those were times of darkness, revolt, and 
audacity, indeed, when the flames of the 
stakes of a John Huss, and a Jerome of 
Prague (whom my most holy Council of 
Constance had chastised), seemed but to 
inflame the rebellious minds of those Wal- 
denses, and also of those Germans, Swiss, 
French, and even English, among whom 
(what an excess of madness !) those exe- 
crable and impure arch heretics, Luther, 
Calvin, and many others quite as perverse, 
bewitched the people. Therefore, as all 
these infernal heresies never had any oth- 
er source, or any other aliment, than the 
indiscreet reading of the Bible ; as, in all 
times, it has only been from this book, and 
those other writings that are copied from it, 
that the enemies of the holy Catholic faith 
have drawn their attacks or reproaches, 
my zeal for God has also shown itself on 
that point. I therefore, first of all, prohib- 
ited that ensnaring study, by my Councils 
of Toulouse and Trent, and then by my 
bull Unigenitus.-\ Then I ordained that the 
sellers, or colporteurs of the Bible, should 
be punished ; I had the copies seized and 
burned by my inquisitors, as at Paris, for 
instance, where, in 1538, the heretics of 
England had dared to print that book, and 
in Italy, Piedmont, and Austria, where I 
threw a great number into the flames. I 
further proscribed and signalized to my 
docile flocks those books and sheets which 
are called Religious Tracts, and which, ac- 
cording to the expression of the" holy fa- 
ther, Gregory XVL, 'are thin in bulk, but 



■* Bellarm., De Laic, iii., 18, 20 ; i., 1363. Dens, 
Theolog., ii., 88, 89. Rhem. Testam., in Matth., xiii., 
29. Mageoghegan, Hist, of Anc. and Mod. Irl, iii., 
595 (V P ■). 

t Concil. Tolos., Pap. Greg. IX., anno 1229. Bul- 
la Unigenitus, art. Ixxix., et seq. De Lib. proh. reg- 
ulae, 10 ; perpatres a Trid. Syn., &c., reg. 4. 



thick and strong in iniquity.'* And, final- 
ly, I charged, by a pious ecclesiastical let- 
ter, my bishops and priests to expel all 
those productions from their parishes, the 
Bible as well as the others ; to take them 
from those imprudent hands that might 
receive them, and to burn them without 
reserve, as at Ephesus, beneath the eyes 
of the apostles ; and on the public places 
all pernicious books were reduced to 
ashes. t 

" Thou seest, then, what unwearied trou- 
ble my love caused me to take, to bring 
those unnatural, those stupid children, back 
to my bosom ! But it was also necessary 
that they should feel the just strokes of my 
zeal for the truth. Charles V., my worthy 
son, interdicted them throughout all his 
states. Charles and Philip IL imitated 
him in Spain. The Netherlands sacrificed 
those senseless, those detestable! Protes- 
tants by thousands. The Duke of Avila, 
my dear servant, gloried in having caused 
eighteen thousand to perish in six weeks ; 
and Grotius, who has accurately counted 
them, affirms that one hundred thousand 
fanatics fell in Belgium alone. J But France, 
that beautiful country, whose tender moth- 
er I am, and who always loved me so sin- 
cerely, was again to surpass all other na- 
tions of the world in its zeal for my pros- 
perity. Francis I. and Henry IL pro- 
claimed their mortal hatred toward the 
pretended Reformation and all the Prot- 
estants. These two most Christian kings 
wished also to taste the pious emotions 
which the punishment of heretics produces 
in faithful hearts ; and several of those 
rebels were burned alive in their presence, 
and they also signed the order for the mas- 
sacre of Merindol, Orange, and, finally, that 
of Paris. ^ Where now are to be found 
such sons of the Church 1 Who, in this 
age of indiff"erence and apostacy, still 
understands the yearnings of my bosom, 
and allows himself to be warmed by the 
fire of my zeal for the cause of the faith T' 

The Candidate. " I could never have 
thought your zeal capable of such excess- 
es." 

The Church of Rome. " What think you 
would it have been, had it not been re- 
strained by the resistance of my adversa- 
ries ! But God was for me, and He made 
it manifest. The massacre of the Walden- 
ses of Merindol, which I had wisely pre- 
pared for in the Parliament of Aix, was 
nobly executed by the Baron d'Oppede, 
first in 1540, but especially five years after. 
Francis I. had allowed the destruction of 
only a few castles, and the death of nme- 



* Circular of Pope Gregory, 1832. 

t Ibid., act. xix., 19. 

t Ritual. Rom., 167. F. Paolo, i., 30. Sleid., iii. 
Du Pin, iii., 176. Thuan., i., 229. F. Paolo, ii., 52. 
Grot., Anna!., 12. Du Pin, iii., 656 (V. P.). 

^ Thuan., xxiii., 14. Du Pin, iii., 655. F. Paolo, 
i., 484. Thuan., vi., 4, 10. 



44 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



teen of those heretics. D'Oppede, aided 
by the Advocate-general Guerin, remem- 
bering that Saul had received of God the 
order for exterminating the Amalekites, set 
on fire and put to the sword twenty-two 
boroughs and villages, where he left noth- 
ing but ruins and coi'pses. At Cabrieres, 
one of those boroughs, only sixty men and 
thirty women remained. Their life was 
promised them, and they surrendered ; but 
the holy and valiant servant of God mas- 
sacred them afterward, without mercy. 
Does any one keep faith with heretics ? 
Some women escaped, and took refuge in 
one of their impure churches ; D'Oppede 
had them taken thence ; insulted them, 
and had them publicly dishonored by his 
troops ; then he shut them up again in a 
barn, set fire to it, and by the blows of 
halberds they were kept in the flames, 
whence some of them tried to escape." 

The Candidate. " It was there, in those 
very places, that a woman among my an- 
cestors was buried alive." 

The Church of Rome. " Holy and inex- 
orable fidelity of my children ! They knew 
no weakness nor false pity, and God was 
obeyed. Such, also, of those Waldenses 
who had intrenched themselves in the 
mountains, surrounded by my troops and 
overtaken by famine, were given up to the 
discretion of the conqueror. The men 
were strangled ; the young men were de- 
graded ; the women, after their children 
were butchered before them, were dis- 
honored and mutilated ; the aged were 
stabbed, and the infants were dashed 
against the rocks. Soon all that country 
presented a desert, covered with ruins 
and corpses, to which lurial was refused; 
and the glorious flag of the Catholic faith 
floated without an obstacle over ruins that 
the blood of heretics had inundated. Prot- 
estantism shuddered with horror or shame 
at it, but the saints in heaven leaped with 
joy, and praised God.* Paris celebrated 
this triumph. At Rome, in my faithful 
city, I blessed the Virgin and all the 
saints ; and D'Oppede was made Count 
Palatine and Knight of St. John. He was 
worthy of it, that hero, who had shown 
himself so devoted a defender of the faith, 
the protector of my laws, and the implaca- 
ble enemy of the Bible. f 

" But the city of Orange remained to be 
humbled also ; it had rejected my yoke to 
receive that of a Calvin. In 1 552, Pius IV. , 
my docile agent, sent Serbellon thither, at 
the head of an army of Italians. All the 
inhabitants were massacred, tortured, or 
precipitated from the top of the rocks. 
The heretics were hanged, were roasted 
before slow fires ; the men were mutilated ; 



* Gaufridi, Hist, of Prov., xii. ; ii., 480. Moreri 
{Amst., 1720), vi., 46. Thuan., i., 227; vi., 16. 
F. Paolo, 1., 190. Diet. Univ. Hist. Grit, and Bibliogr., 
loco Oppede. t Gaufridi, ii., 481, 494. 



the women were given up to the brutality 
of the soldiers ; the young men were 
treated as criminals ; and every excess of 
cruelty and infamy was practiced upon 
every human creature there, till vengeance 
was satiated. No mercy, no regard; their 
crime was infernal, the punishment must 
be unlimited."* 

The Candidate. " I presume the joy of 
Rome was then greatly increased V 

The Church of Rome. " God blessed her, 
in owning her as His holy city, before the 
world. Her enemies licked the dust of her 
feet ; her glory was increased continually, 
and on Sunday, the 24th of August, 1572, 
in France, she attained the summit of her 
happiness." 

The Candidate. " You now allude, I sup- 
pose, to St. Bartholomew's day "?" 

The Church of Rome. " Yes ; Beziers 
and Lavaur, and afterward Merindol and 
Orange, had given a faint glimpse of my 
zeal and perseverance for the conversion 
of heretics ; the day, or, rather, the night 
to which I allude, displayed it in its full 
power. I am aware that certain minds, 
still unsettled or biased by interest, and 
even some historians among my own sub- 
jects, have tried to assign a worldly and 
civil cause to this ' Act of my Faith,' in 
presuming that the heretics of Paris, and 
of other large cities of France, were then, 
chastised as turbulent citizens, and on 
political suspicions. But I repel such 
shameful insinuations, and, in producing 
documents and proofs, I declare that, as 
the Albigenses, the Picards, the Walden- 
ses, and the Lutherans, that were struck 
by my sword, were chastised by me only 
for their ob tinate heresies (as, also, were 
the Huguenots, whom duty required me to 
extirpate from the earth, by the obedient 
hand of Charles IX.), so the heretics of 
Paris were judged and punished by me 
only as the enemies of the Holy See, a& 
my implacable adversaries. That you may 
be convinced of this, read what has been 
written on the subject by those of my 
children who were the blessed agents, or 
the happy witnesses of that holy work ; 
and thou wilt see that it was indeed here- 
tics (and not conspirators) that the king, 
the priests, and the people, then extermi- 
nated ; that, in doing so, they felt them- 
selves to be the executors of the justice of 
God ; that the Parliament complimented 
the king on so abundant an eff'usion of the 
blood of heretics ; that the king had a mass 
celebrated, in which he thanked God for 
that victory over the enemies of the faith ; 
and that the medal which he had struck, 
to immortalize that day, bears the motto, 
Piety produced Justice, j 



* Varillas, Hist, of the Revolutions that have hap- 
pened in Europe respecting Religion, i., 203. Thuan., 
ii., 228; xxxi., 11 (V. P.). 

f Daniel, viii., 738, 786. De Thou, iii., 449. Me- 
zeray, v., 160, Pietas excitavit jiistitiam. 



HER ZEAL AND FIDELITY. 



45 



" It was, then, the purest and most dis- 
interested zeal that animated me ; /, who 
am the spouse of Jesus Christ, and to 
whom the defense of the faith on earth 
belongs. It was that pious ardor which 
inflamed the hearts of all the 'faithful,' 
first in Paris, and then in Meaux, Orleans, 
Rouen, Angers, Troy, Bourges, La Chari- 
te, and especially in Lyons, Toulouse, and 
Bordeaux ; and which, in all places, pro- 
duced, as if by divine agreement, the same 
indignation and vengeance. 

" At Paris, it was in the night that this 
just judgment began ; and, day throwing 
light upon the slaughter of the heretics, re- 
animated the zeal of my children. ' The 
air resounded with frightful, tempestuous 
shouts, with the blasphemies and the curses 
of the murderers ; with the noise of the 
doors which vvere broken open ; with the 
reports of the pistols and guns ; with the 
cries of the dying, the lamentations of the 
women, the noise of the wagons filled 
with plunder or carrying corpses to the 
Seine. The exclamations, ''Kill /" ''Stab /" 
" Knock down .'" echoed on every side. 
Death every where struck the rebels, who 
were either shot at on the roofs of the 
houses, or precipitated from the windows, 
or thrown into the water, or killedjjy clubs ; 
wives in the arms of their husbands, hus- 
bands on the bosoms of their wives, sons 
at the feet of their fathers. Neither old 
men, nor pregnant women, nor even chil- 
dren were spared. The streets were 
strewed with corpses ; the gutters flowed 
with the blood of the heretics.' Yes, they 
are exterminated, and I am — happy ! ! The 
cause of the faith is triumphant ; the ene- 
mies of God are no more.* 

" Rome leaped with joy ; which she 
would not have done, I repeat, if it had 
been a political cause, and the defeat of 
personal foes only. Her joy would then 
have been an insult to charity. But they 
were the enemies of God whom she saw 
struck by the arm of God himself, and it 
was before God that she rejoiced at her 
victory. Her joy was then as pure as that 
of Israel, when they saw Pharaoh swal- 
lowed up in the sea. The holy father and 
his cardinals went immediately to the 
Church of St. Mark, and gave solemn 
thanks to God for so glorious a favor to 
the See of Rome, and the whole Christian 
world. A jubilee was proclaimed ; the 
cannon of the Castle of St. Angelo re- 
sounded in the midst of the festival of the 
people ; the city was illuminated ; a cardi- 
nal was sent to the King of France to con- 
gratulate him ; and Gregory XIII. had im- 
mediately a medal struck, representing an 
angel armed with a sword, with which he 
exterminated the heretics. f Thus one 



* Mez.,.Hist. ofFr., fol.,vol. ii., p. 1098 (Paris, 1646). 

t De Thou, Histor., lib. liii. (Londini, 1733). Fleu- 

ri, Ecdes. Hist., torn, xxiii., ]ib. clxxiii., p. 557 (1780). 



serves God when he has zeal. It is thus 
I have shown that, faithful like tlie Church 
of Ephesus, ' I cannot bear the wicked,' 
and that my heart is jealous for the glory 
of Jesus Christ. 

" And yet these are but a few of my 
deeds. I have not spoken to thee of 
Spain, Portugal, England, Ireland, Scot- 
land, Germany, and other countries, which 
I also filled at that time with tribunals, 
prisons, tortures, and stakes ; and where I 
also succeeded in shedding, as it were in 
torrents, the blood of the heretics, and, 
above all, of that infamous race, the Pied- 
montese Waldenses, whom I have devoted 
to utter destruction. I had already deci- 
mated them several times, in their dark 
valleys, or, rather, in their dens, and other 
places ; but it was necessary that I should 
blot them from the earth. I therefore 
first drove away Jive hundred families, in 
1601, from the Marquisate of Salluces, and 
I harassed them even in the countries 
whither they had fled for refuge. Then, 
in 1650, during the jubilee that I cele- 
brated at Rome, I established auxiliary- 
inquisitions for the extirpation of heretics 
in the principal towns of France and Italy. 
My good city of Turin contained one 
which, after having justly worried and 
vexed the enemies of the faith in different 
ways, issued a decree in January, 1655, 
which required the rebels either to submit 
to the holy father who presides over me, 
or to quit their houses, and retire from the 
valleys to the frozen summits of the Alps."* 

The Candidate. " But was it not barba- 
rous and atrocious thus to drive men, 
women, and young children from their 
homes, amid the frost and ice of winter?" 

The Church of Rome. " My zeal for God 
seared all such feelings ; and, indeed, what 
avail would pity have toward such sense- 
less people 1 They might have remained 
peaceably under their own roofs ; to allow 
them this privilege, I only asked a simple 
acquiescence in my divine authority ; but 
they chose, rather, to oppose me, and to 
bear all and lose all, and see almost all 
their little children perish in the snow, and 
the mothers sink and die in despair. More 
than this, three months afterward, when 
I sent them an army of fifteen thousand 
men, to speak of peace to them if they 
would obey me, they persisted in ther ob- 
stinacy; and I was obliged to massacre 
them, almost universally. I inflicted the 
most frightful torments on more than six 
thousand of those fanatics ; and, after hav- 
ing dishonored the women, tortured the 
men, and stabbed or strangled the children, 
I cut their bodies in pieces, and scattered 
their limbs abroad on the rocks, the fields, 
and the roads, in order to create, if possi- 
ble, some terror in the bosoms of those 
persevering wretches who remained. 



Leger, Hb. li., p. 72, 92. 



46 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



" This is what I did, even in the seven- 
teenth century ; and if, since those bright 
days, in order to obtain more easily the 
absolute obedience which alone renders 
}ny States happy, and to quiet the outcries 
of those Protestants who are ever ready 
to impute crimes to me, I have had to re- 
strain my course, and accommodate my- 
self, at least outwardly, to the vain wis- 
dom of an apostate age, do not think that 
for that reason I have diminished my zeal 
in the least degree. That which I taught 
and which I publicly manifested in those 
days of my prosperity, / now teach in my 
schools and universities ; secretly, it is 
true, but without any relaxation. Then I 
proclaimed, before the whole world, that 
the heretics (and thou knowest, Protes- 
tant Candidate ! whom I call by that name) 
ought to have all their property confisca- 
ted, ought to be banished, and, if necessa- 
ry, put to death and refused burial.* At the 
present day, I infuse into the hearts of my 
priests the same doctrine, drop by drop, 
and require my missionaries to preach it 
in the countries where I feel myself un- 
shackled ; and my zeal and faithfulness 
will again put in practice the same holy 
work, when the God whom I serve gives 
me the authority, and furnishes me with 
the power." 

Reader! thus spoke the Church of Rome ; 
and, as soon as she ceased, I had this fear- 
ful vision : I thought I saw " a woman sit 
upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names 
of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten 
horns ; and the woman was arrayed in 
purple and scarlet color, and decked with 
gold, and precious stones, and pearls, hav- 
ing a golden cup in her hand, full of abomi- 
nations and filthiness of her fornication. 
And upon her forehead was a name writ- 
ten. Mystery, Babylon the Great, the 

MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF 

the EARTH. And I saw the woman drunk- 
en with the blood of the saints, and with 
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and 
when I saw her I wondered with great ad- 
miration. And I heard a voice, saying, ' In 
her was found the blood of prophets, and 
of saints, and of all that were slain upon 
the earth.' And I heard another voice, 
saying, ' Her sins have reached unto heav- 
en, and God hath remembered her iniqui- 
ties. Therefore shall her plagues come in 
one day, death, and mourning, and famine ; 
and she shall be utterly burned with fire : 
for strong is the Lord God who judge th 
her.' "—(Rev., xvii., 3-6 ; xviii., 24, 25, 28.) 
When I had seen this vision, I looked a 
long time upon her who had spoken to me ; 
then I said, with a deep sigh, " Thy zeal is 
a zeal of bloody hatred and revenge, which 
the Word of Jesus condemns. I, there- 
fore, turn from thee, for thy hands are 



stained with blood. I will walk as near as^ 
I can to the Lamb, whose language is love^ 
and who is to judge thy deeds and thy pur- 
poses !" I was deeply affected ; the reci- 
tals of the Church of Rome had oppressed 
my heart, and I wept profusely. Will the 
reader deem me precipitate or unreasona- 
ble in being horror-struck at such zeaU 
and in detesting such deeds'? Have I in 
this lost sight of the Truth of Christ 1 Does 
not the Bible command me to stand aloof 
from her, that I partake not of her sins \ 



* Dens, Theologia, ii., 88, 89. Mageogh., iii., 595. 
Home's Protest. Mem., 95, 96 (V. P.). 



CHAPTER VL 

HIS HOLINESS THE POPE. 

" I AM, then, accounted as nothing !" 
says a man, authoritatively ; yes, a man 
like other men ; a poor sinner ; seated on 
a throne in the city of Rome, covered 
with magnificent robes, with three golden 
crowns, and holding a sceptre which he 
tries to sway over the whole world. 

" Who are you," I inquired, " that I 
should consider you of any consequence 
in this matter f 

The man answered, " St. Peter, the 
prince of the Apostles, having received 
from Jesus Christ sovereign authority over 
the Church, exercised it first in Rome, as 
bishop ; after which he transmitted it, with 
the right of succession, to every subse- 
quent Bishop of Rome, who, as the Vicar 
of the Lord Jesus, and Head of the whole 
Church here below, represents the Divini- 
ty on earth, possesses spiritual power and 
dominion over it, and is called, by way of 
eminence. His Holiness, or the Holy Fa- 
ther ; and this is me, the Pope."* 

" The Pope, His Holiness .'" I replied, 
" the Representative of the Divinity ! the 
Vicar of the Lord Jesus ! the Head of the 
whole Church! ! Can it be possible that a 
man, a weak mortal, can persuade himself 
that he has a right to such characters and 
titles ! !" Such arrogance and presumption 
are enough to overwhelm the mind that 
contemplates them. Let us, however, take 
courage, and search a little, to see how far 
these titles and attributes are of God, or 
of his adversary. 

First, how does the Church of Rome 
understand this papal title, which includes 
all others. The Head of the ivhole Church ? 
On this point, reader, the Latin Church is 
divided into four principal parties, notwith- 
standing that entire unity of which she so 
loudly boasts. 

The first party, remembering, perhaps, 
that the name pope (which means father^ 
and which the priests of the Greek Church 
also bear) was given by abuse, and contra- 
ry to the express prohibition of the Sav- 

* Bellartn., De Pontifice Romano. 



THE POPE. 



47 



iour (Matt., xviii., 9), as early as the third 
century, to every bishop of the Church ; 
that, by a still greater abuse, that name 
was restricted, after the ninth century, to 
the four patriarchs of the East ; and, final- 
ly, that it was attributed, in 1703, by Greg- 
ory VII., exclusively to the Bishop of 
Rome ; I say, perhaps, remembering these 
things, the first party declares that the 
pope is but a bishop, and merely the first 
among his equals ; only the minister (that 
is to say, the servant), and not the master, 
of the Church ; that, far from having any 
authority over the latter, it is the Church, 
on the contrary, that has the right to con- 
trol him, and that thus the Romish hierar- 
chy is the first in order, but not in power* 
This party had its advocates in the Coun- 
cils of Constance, Pisa, and Basle, where it 
was decreed that a council of the Church 
is higher than the pope, an opinion which 
the Galilean Church, the Universities of 
Paris, Louvain, and Cologne, Cardinal Fi- 
laster, Gerson, Nicholas of Cusa, Soto, 
Marca, and many other doctors and learn- 
ed men have maintained.! 

The second party is in Italy, and compos- 
ed of the Jesuits. By them absolute au- 
thority, spiritual and temporal, is given to 
the pope ; he reigns as sovereign, both 
over the Church and over kingdoms. In- 
fallible in his decisions, he regulates the 
belief, the worship, and all the practices 
of the whole Christian world, and kings 
are established or deposed by him. J 

The third division makes the pope equal 
with God. It gives him His name, and 
attributes His works to him. " He is not 
a mere man," say the doctors of that party, 
" but a real God on earth. Constantine 
called him God, and, as such, he cannot be 
judged of men. All the kingdoms of the 
West, also, regard him as God ; and our 
Lord God the pope, ' having all power in 
heaven and on earth,' can do all that God 
does ; of nothing, he can create something ; 
he annihilates that which is, and none will 
dare to ask him. What hast thou done V^ 

But the most ardent zealots of the pope, 
placing his authority above that of God 
himself, attribute to him the right of chang- 
ing the divine law ; of making legitimate 
that which it forbids, and of forbidding that 
which it allows or commands, to such an 
extent that, if the pope were even to say 
that vice is virtue, and virtue vice, the 



^ Du Pin, 313, 314, 333. Lenfant, i., 107. Gil- 
bert, iii., 336. Du Pin, De Prim., 206 (V. P.). 

t De Launoy, Epist., i., 295, 314. Du Pin, 442, 
404 (Ibid.). 

% Bellarm., De Pont. Rom., Baronius, Pighius, 
Aquinas, etc., etc. Labbe, xviii., 1320; xix., 967. 
Cajel., i., 10 (Ibid.). 

^ Cardin. Jacobat., De Conciliis, viii. Barclay, 
De potest, pap., 222. Giberi, Corp. jur. can., ii., 9. 
Labbe, viii., 666. Bruys, Hist., ii., 100. Labbe, ix., 
1572. Extrav., Ti?.,xiv.,4; iv., 11. Durand, J9e corp. 
et sang. J. C, i., 50 (V. P.) 



Church ought to believe it, and conform 
herself to it.* 

" What, then, shall I do. Church of Rome I 
I hear these parties quarrel, abuse, and con- 
demn each other ; to which of them, I pray 
you. must I address myself to know what 
the pope in reality is V 

" To all four," I am answered, " for they 
unite in telling thee that the Church has 
her Head here below, more or less adored ; 
and that that Head, that Yicar of Jesus 
Christ among men, is the Holy Father." 
" Stop !" I reply ; " call not that holy whick 
is unclean. Do you forget the crimes by 
which so many popes have polluted them- 
selves V 

" It matters not," the Church of Rome 
replies. " Their office is supernatural and 
independent of their person. If they be- 
come dead members of the Church by sin, 
their vocation keeps them living in office, 
by the virtue of the Holy Spirit, whose in- 
struments .they are, and who speaks by 
them."t 

" I understand — very much as that Spirit 
spoke by Saul, by Balaam, and even by 
his ass. J But that does not convince me ; 
for both Saul, and Balaam, and the ass 
said good things, and did not contradict 
each other in their testimonies ; but the 
popes do just the contrary. For not only 
has the Church of Rome often appealed 
from the decisions of a pope to those of a 
council (which would not have taken place 
had the Holy Spirit spoken by the pope), 
but the councils have formally condemned 
that which several popes had decided by 
their infallible knowledge, and the authori- 
ty of St. Peter.^ Again, popes have been 
excommunicated. |[ The Church, too, has 
rejected councils approved by popes. Be- 
sides that, as we have already seen, sever- 
al popes have maintained heresies. The 
contradictions of the popes between them- 
selves, also, are innumerable, and their ac- 
knowledgments of error and ignorance 
are well established. ^f How, then, in view 
of these facts, can I conclude that the 
Holy Spirit speaks through the mouth of 
the pope 1" 

" It does," replies the Church of Rome ; 
" for you cannot avoid seeing that, as suc- 
cessor of St. Peter, the pope has received 
his prerogative, and, therefore, that, like that 
apostle, he is the Vicar of Jesus Christ." 

I have great difficulty in seeing this, I 
repeat. But let us farther compare this 
positive assertion with the facts in the 
case. 

* De Thou, vi., 397. Gibert, ii., 103. Durand, i., 
50. Bellarm., Disput., iv., 5. Decret. Greg., iii., 8. 
Labbe, xix., 924 {Ibid.). 

t Bellarm., De Eccles. mil, lib. iii., c. 9. Pighius, 
Hier. Ecch, lib. iv., c. 8. Cone. Const., sess. 15. 

X Numb., xxii., 23, etc. 

ij La Placette, Obs. on Eccl. Hist., part i., obs. 7, 8, 
9, 10, etc. II T. C, vol. ii., p. 435. 

IT Du Pin, Christ. Doctr., book i., c. 14, etc. 



48 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



CHAPTER VII. 

SUPREMACY OF ST. PETER. 

I SHALL not here enter into the question 
respecting the Constitution of the Church, 
"whetherdemocratical or monarchical, Pres- 
hyterian or Episcopal, but merely remark 
by the way, that Bishop Cyprian declares 
that he could not decide any thing of him- 
self in the Church ; and Ambrose and Je- 
rome say, that before the devil introduced 
ambition into the Church, all its affairs 
were managed by a college of elders. * I 
will introduce the subject with this ques- 
tion : 

" Did Jesus Christ establish, in the per- 
son of the Apostle St. Peter, a spiritual 
monarch, who represented Him in the 
Church at Rome, and to whom the bishops 
of that city succeeded T' I deny it, and 
for this reason : That decisive word (as the 
Church of Rome calls it) by which the 
Lord established St. Peter head of the 
Church, when He told him, "Thou art 
Peter, and on this rockf I will build my 
Church," was spoken in the presence of 
the Twelve, who heard it, and who assured- 
ly understood its meaning. But one year 
afterward (not before), the apostles dispu- 
ted among themselves respecting the pri- 
macy ; for which the Lord reproved them, 
declaring to them that His Church would 
not be like a kingdom of this world, in 
which there is a prince, a ruler.| This 
fact appears to me conclusive, for it shows 
me two things : first, that the apostles did 
not think that St. Peter had received the 
pre-eminence from the Saviour, because 
they sought it for themselves ; and, second- 
ly, that the Lord had not conferred such 
pre-eminence, else he would have remind- 
ed them, when he reproved them, that Pe- 
ter was supreme among them. Reader, 
what do you think of this facf? But I am 
answered that " it was only after the res- 
urrection of the Saviour that St. Peter 
was solemnly established over the Church, 
when the Lord told him, ' Feed my sheep, 
and feed my lambs.' "^ 

Let us, then, look at the facts that oc- 
curred after the Lord's resurrection. 

The city of Samaria had received the 
Gospel from the mouth of the elder Philip. 
The apostles heard of it, and sent Peter 
and John to preach there. Five years 
had already elapsed since Christ had arisen 
from the dead, and since, as they say, St. 
Peter had presided over the Apostolical 
College. What, then, became of his presi- 

* Cypr., lib. iii., epist. xix., ad Cletum. Ambr., in 
1 Tim., i., 5. Hieron., epist. i., ad Tur. (C. 1 .). 

t 'Ettj TavTti tt) Trerpq. One should observe that 
there is a kind of play on words in French, about the 
resemblance of the name of Peter .with the word 
stoae. This does not take place in the original. The 
apostle is there named Petros, and the rock petra. 

X Matth., XX., 20. Mark, x., 35. Luke, xxii., 25. 

(j Bellarmine, De Pont. Rom., lib. i., c. 13, 14, 15. 



dency and his authority on this occasion, 
since it is not he who sends, but it is he 
who is sent ? Reader, do you know 1 

Again : The Lord Jesus had sent the 
Gospel to the Roman Cornelius by Peter, 
who, being a Jew, had to enter that Gen- 
tile's house and eat with him. The apos- 
tles and the brethren, offended at this, re- 
quired him to account for it ; and Peter 
had to make an explanation and exculpate 
himself. Now the Church of Rome tells 
us that at this time he had been invested 
with his supreme authority eleven years ! 
But neither the other apostles, nor the 
Church, nor even St. Peter himself, im- 
agined that such authority existed in him, 
for the Church controlled him, all of whose 
actions, according to Rome, she should 
have approved and adored. And the apos- 
tle himself apologized; which he would 
not have done had he considered himself 
head of the Church, and especially had 
he felt himself to be infallible. 

Look next at what occurred at a period 
when the supremacy of St. Peter, accord- 
ing to the Church of Rome, had already 
acquired much power. The Apostle Paul 
had not lived, like the Twelve, with Jesus, 
and had persecuted the Church, which led 
him to say that he was " not meet to be 
called an apostle."* It was, therefore, a 
very appropriate occasion, when certain en- 
emies reproached him with these things,! 
for him to recognize the supremacy of 
Cephas, and to submit to it. But does he 
do so 1 Far from it. He not only declares 
to the Church that Cephas neither taught 
him nor committed any thing to him, but 
announces, on the contrary, that he (Paul) 
withstood Peter to the face at Antioch, be- 
cause HE WAS to be blamed for compeUing 
the Gentiles to live as do the Jews.| And 
seven years afterward (that is, about thirty 
years after the Saviour's resurrection), he 
affirms openly that in nothing was he be- 
hind the very chiefest apostles.^ Reader, 
does this look as if St. Paul believed in 
Peter's primacy 1 

" Nevertheless," they resume, " Jesus 
Christ gave St. Peter the keys of the king- 
dom of heaven, and He told him that what- 
ever he should bind or loose on earth, 
should be so in heaven also."|| 

I know it ; and I also know that, in the 
IXth century, in Rome, two large silver 
keys were worshiped, which, the people 
were assured, were the very keys which 
Christ had given to St. Peter. T[ But, not- 
withstanding this proof, I remember that, 
among the Jews, " keys'''' were the symbol 
of instruction, as Jesus used the term when 
he reproved the doctors of the Law for 



* 1 Cor., XV., 9. 

t Gal., v., 12 ; vi., 12. 1 Cor., ix., 1-3. 

t Gal, ii., 11. (j 2 Cor., xii., 11. Gal., ii., 6. 

IF Matth., xvi., 19. |! (T. C), torn, ii., p. 425. 



SUPREMACY OF ST. PETER. 



having taken away the key of kjiowledge* 
For as to the key of heavenly power, it 
is in the hands of " Him that hath the key 
of David," and who " will not give His 
glory to another."! Moreover, it was not 
to St. Peter alone, but it was to the Twelve, 
that the Lord gave the power of absolving 
or of condemning ; and that through His 
Word, and not otherwise ; for He himself 
is the only Lawgiver that is able to save 
and to destroy.^ 

St. Peter, also, was so far from attribu- 
ting to himself any pre-eminence over his 
companions in the work, or even over the 
simple pastors of the Church, that he said 
to the latter, I am " also an elder" with 
you, and far from ordering you to do your 
duty, " I exhort" you to perform it ;^ and 
near the close of his hfe, when he was 
shortly to put off his tabernacle, || he rec- 
ommended to the Church to nourish her- 
self with the writings of Paul.% He then 
did not think his to be superior in certitude 
-or authority ! 

THE OPPOSITE TESTIMONY. 

Neither did the Fathers think so. " The 
jt)ck on which the Saviour founded his 
Church," says Justin Martyr, the most an- 
cient of them all, " was not Peter's person, 
but the profession which that apostle had 
made."** " All the apostles were, like Pe- 
ter, clothed with the same honor and the 
same power," wrote Cyprian, " and the 
declaration made to him by the Saviour 
is applicable equally to all bishops. "ft 

" If it be said," Jerome remarks, " that 
the Church is founded on Peter, it is said 
quite as much of the other apostles. For 
the rock was Christ. The Lord, also, said 
to Simon, 'Thou art Petrus, and on this 
stone {petra) 1 will build my Church ;' which 
he had founded on a firm rock, which is 
Christ."tt 

" If St. Paul said that he was the least 
of the apostles," Ambrose observes, "he 
said it only in respect to the time of his 
vocation, and not as to the glory of the 
miracles he wrought, nor as to the dignity 
-of his office. "i^^ 

" Cephas is called Peter, ^^ Gregory Nazi- 
anzen and Theophylact say, "because the 
Church is founded on the truth of the faith 
which he confessed, and because he was 
the first who made that confession; and 
' every disciple,' says Origen, ' is also that 
rock."'||ll 

Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria are 



* Luke, xi., 51. t I^ev., iii., 17. Is., xlii., 8. 

X John, XX., 23. James, iv., 12. ^ 1 Peter, v., 1. 

II 2 Peter, i., 13. IF 2 Peter, iii., 15, 16. 

** Justin., Dial. crom. Tryph., Open, p. 255. 

ft Cypr., De Unitate Eccles., Id., Epist.21 (C. T., 
p. 1581). 

Xt Hieron., in Matth., xvi., Petrus de petra. Funda- 
ta enim erat supra firmam petram, qiuB est Christus. 
Comm., in Ps. Ix. 

^(J Ambr., in 2 Cor., xi. 111! Tract i., in Matth. 

G 



no less positive ; the first formally con- 
demns the supposition that " Peter was the 
rock designated by the Saviour ;" and the 
second says that " Jesus gave the name of 
stone, or of rock, to the unchangeable /azYA 
of his disciples."* 

Finally, St. Augustine, as if to confirm 
and close this argument, gives his opinion 
in these terms : 

" It was in the name of all that Peter 
made the confession of his faith ; and it 
was to represent the Church in him that 
the Lord gave him the name of Peter 
{Petrus). Christ is the rock; the Christ- 
ian community is Petrus. It is after the 
name of Christ that the Christian is call- 
ed ; it is, also, from ' the Rock' that Pe- 
trus is named. It is, therefore, this rock 
(says Jesus) that thou, Peter, hast confess- 
ed ; on this rock that thou hast acknowl- 
edged, when thou didst say to me, ' Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the hving God,' 
that I will build my Church ; that is to 
say, I will build it on myself, on the Son 
of the living God. I will build thee on me, 
and not myself on thee."t 

Reader ! has the verdict of such a jury 
any weight ; and, after having heard it, will 
you not agree with the Bishop of Avila, 
who, speaking of the power of the " keys," 
declares that " it is to the ministers of the 
Church, and to the Church still more than 
to these latter, that they were given V'X 

" Why, then, if it be so," resumes the 
Latin Church, without being at all discon- 
certed, " has the Bishop of Rome always 
had a recognized authority over the Uni- 
versal Church]" 

Always, do you say ? But when Victor, 
bishop of Rome, in the second century, ex- 
communicated, at the festival of Easter, 
the bishops of Asia, was the severe cen- 
sure which those bishops, together with 
Irenaeus, administered to him, a mark of 
submission to his supreme authority '?^ 
Again, did he possess such authority at the 
end of the same century, when, to that 
pretension of supremacy, Tertullian op- 
posed a formal charge of usurpation, and 
reminded him that " if the Lord Jesus ac- 
corded any privilege to Peter, it was to 
himself, and to no one succeeding him r'|j 
Had he that authority in the third century, 
when Stephen, bishop of Rome, was op- 
posed to Cyprian respecting the baptism 
of heretics T Did the thirty-seven bishops 
who composed the council convoked by 
Cyprian yield the victory to Stephen ? Did 



* Chrysost., Semu de Pentec, Horn. Ixix. Cyril, 
Com. in Es., lib. iv. 

t August., Ideo Petrus a petra, non petra a Petro ; 
quomodo non a christiano Christus, se de Christo christ- 
ianus vacatur. Serm. Ixxvi., in Matth., xiv. Non su- 
pra Petrum, quod tu es ; sed supra petram quam confes' 
sus e.i. Serm. cclxx. In diem Pentec. 

X Christ. TheoL, vol ii., p. 428. 

() Euseb., Hist. Eccles., lib. v., 24. 

(I Tertull., De pudic., Oper., p. 767. 



50 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



they not, rather, call the decisions of the 
Bishop of Rome license, and arbitrary inso- 
lence ?* Did Firmilian, bishop of Cappado- 
cia, in the same century, render any greater 
obedience to the supremacy of the Bishop 
of Rome when he openly called him a sec- 
ond Judas, and expressed his indignation at 
his manifest folly H Did Augustine, that 
learned and zealous doctor, think that the 
Bishop of Rome was predominant over the 
others when, in explaining the forty-fifth 
Psalm, he said, " Look at Rome, at Car- 
thage, and many other cities ; they are the 
daughters of the king, and it is of them all 
united that their Lord forms, as it were, one 
only queen VJ Finally, did the Bishop 
of Rome have universally that sovereign 
authority, when, toward the end of the 
sixth century, two popes, Pelagius IL and 
Gregory L, declared, the one that "John, 
patriarch of Constantinople, was the king 
of all the sons of pride ; and the other, that 
he blasphemed, and that he was the precur- 
sor of antichrist, because he took the title 
of universal bishop V'^ 

If we pass from the bishops to the gen- 
eral councils, we find that the Pope of 
Rome possessed not, in their judgment, 
that uninterrupted sovereignty so much 
boasted of. Let us hear three of the prin- 
cipal of them. 

" Let the ancient customs continue," 
the first Council of Nice (325) decreed; 
"namely, let the Bishop of Alexandria 
govern the surrounding districts, as is done 
at Rome, at Antioch, and elsewhere." " Let 
each metropolitan," the Council of Ephe- 
sus (431) commands, "have an equal and 
determined power, according to the an- 
cient custom." " Let the New Rome" 
(Constantinople), the Council of Chalce- 
don (451) decides, "enjoy the same honor 
that was paid to Imperial Rome." Rome 
then possessed merely equal privileges and 
authority with all other metropolitan cities ; 
and the bishops of the latter were inferior 
in nothing to those of the imperial city. 

" Nevertheless," it is insisted, " the sanc- 
tion of the pope was then, as well as now, 
necessary to confirm the .election of the 
patriarchs ; at that time, therefore, the 
pope was their chief." 

This refers to the fact that each patri- 
arch, then elected, sent the confession of 
his faith, with the letter of his election, to 
the other patriarchs. But Peter de Marca, 
archbishop of Paris, tells us that the Ro- 
man pontiff was bound to do so quite as 
much as the other patriarchs. || There was 
here, then, as in other respects, equality 
of power and of honors ; so much so, that, 



* Cone. Carth., Sent. Episc, Cypr. Opera. 

t Firmil., Epist., Ixxv., in Oper. Cypr. 

i August., Enerrat in Ps. xlv., Oper., vol. viii., ]49. 

^ Pap. Pelag. II., Epist., viii. Pap. Greg. I., 
Epist., lib. iv., 32. 

II Petr. de Marca, De Concord. Sacerd. et imper., lib. 
vi., c. 5. 



toward the end of the fourth century, 
three successive popes having refused to 
confirm Flavian, patriarch of Antioch, that 
refusal did not hinder the churches of Asia 
from recognizing Flavian. Of what con- 
sequence, then, was the sovereignty, or 
even the sanction of the Bishops of Rome 
to them?* 

^ 1. EPISCOPATE OF ST. PETER AT ROME. 

" Yet," they persist in saying, " St. Pe- 
ter, during about twenty-five years, was 
Bishop of Rome, where he himself estab- 
lished' his successors."! 

Then he must have done it after his 
death, I reply ; for it was impossible, read- 
er, for him to do so before. It is certain 
that this apostle died previously to the close 
of the year 66 ; if he was bishop at Rome 
during twenty-five years, he must have 
begun to be so in the year 41. But the 
history of the Acts of the Apostles pre- 
sents St. Peter to us, uniformly, as at 
Rome, Cesarea, or Antioch, till the year 
52. Here, then, are the twenty-five years 
of episcopacy already reduced to fourteen. 
But St. Paul wrote, A.D. 58, his letter to 
the Church of Rome ; and though he there 
salutes, in detail, the brethren of that flock, 
he does not name their bishop, much less 
Cephas, who was still one of the three pil- 
lars ! The twenty-five years, then, are re- 
duced to less than eight ; for who can sup- 
pose that St. Peter was Bishop of Rome 
when St. Paul wrote to his diocess, and 
that this apostle would have sent no salu- 
tation to him ? 

But, further, St. Paul himself arrived at 
Rome for the first time A.D. 61, and though 
he hastens to see the brethren, and ta 
receive at his house the Jews who were 
at Rome, Peter is again omitted. No men- 
tion is then made of his episcopacy, or 
even of his person. How can we recon- 
cile this, if the Apostle Cephas was Bishop 
of Rome, and had been for a long time 
previously T Finally, St. Paul writes from 
Rome, in 62 or 63, his Epistles to Phile- 
mon, to the Philippians, to the Ephesians, 
and to the Colossians, in neither of which 
does he mention Peter, nor does he in the 
year 66, in his second Epistle to Timothy, 
which he also wrote from Rome but a short 
time before his martyrdom. 

Now, who can believe that an apostle, 
living in the same city with another apos- 
tle, bishop of that city, and in such cir- 
cumstances as those of St. Paul, should 
be neither visited nor aided by his brother 
and fellow-laborer, but abandoned by him,J 
and that, in four letters which he addresses 
to the churches, and especially in a fifth, 
in which he speaks to Timothy of his 
bonds and trials, he does not say a word 



♦ Theodoret, Hist. EccL, lib. v., c. 23. 

t Bellarm., De Pont. Rom., lib. ii., c. 6, &c. 

X 2 Tim., iv., 16. 



THE THIRTY PAPAL SCHISMS. 



51 



of the bishop of the place, the apostle of 
the Lord, who, like himself, was soon to 
die for the faith 1* And is it at all probable j 
reader, that a Clement (Roman), a Hermas, 
a Barnabas, an Ignatius, or a Polycarp, 
who lived, taught, wrote, and exhorted at 
the very time, and in the same place where 
we are told St, Peter resided as bishop 
and pope, should none of them, as is the 
case, say a word concerning himT For 
one hundred and fifty years from the death 
of St. Peter, all history is silent, both re- 
specting his visit to Rome and his episco- 
pacy ! But Papias, toward the end of the 
second century, imagined the tale, and be- 
cause Irenaeus alone repeats it, it is re- 
ceived and recognized as divine ! 

But, understanding it to be the apostle- 
ship, and not the episcopacy, that the Lord 
assigned to Simon Peter, and that it was 
for that reason Irenaeus, Rufinus, Euse- 
bius, and other fathers remark, that while 
the bishops of Rome accomplished their 
charge, St. Peter accomplished his apos- 
tolical mission,! all is perfectly compre- 
hensible. Otherwise, " who," in the words 
of the learned Scaliger, " who, with the 
smallest degree of knowledge, can admit 
what is said of the voyages of St. Peter to 
Rome, or his residence of twenty-five 
years in that city, and the martyrdom he 
suffered there ?"J 

^ 2. SUCCESSION OF ST. PETER. 

" Nevertheless," the whole Latin Church 
exclaims again, " St. Peter left his success- 
ors at Rome. The popes are now there ; 
and, by a chain whose links are all close- 
ly united, their uninterrupted succession has 
transmitted to the Church of Rome the 
■visible, infallible, and heavenly authority 
of the prince of apostles."^ 

But when? I ask. It was not during 
his life ; nor could it have been done at the 
time of his death, in the year 66, when 
several apostles, and St. John in particular, 
were still living. And what uninspired 
man could have held parity with the apos- 
tles ^ How much less could he have ex- 
ercised authority over them ! 

Besides, what does the Scripture say on 
that point ] The Lord Jesus, St. Paul 
twice declares, gave some to be apostles, 
and some prophets, and some evangelists, 
and some pastors and teachers. || He did 
it Himself, reader, and not by His vicar, 
still less by the successive vicars of one 
whom He never appointed. 

" Nevertheless," they persevere in re- 



plying, " the facts are before us, and the 
succession of the popes to the See of Rome 
can not be denied ; they were there in 
apostolical times ; they are there still ; 
therefore they have always been there " 



* See the complete demonstration of this proof in 
Bost, Of the Power of St. Peter in the Church, &c., 
Geneva, 1833. 

( t Linv^ et Cletus fuerunt quidem ante Clementem 
episcopi in urhe Roma, sed superstite Petro ut illi epis- 
copatus curam gererent ipse vera apostolatus impleret of- 
^cmm.— Coteler., i., 492 (V. P.). 

t Scaliger, in Johan., xviii., 31. 

(} Bellarm., De Pont. Rom., lib. ii., c. 12. 

11 1 Cor., xii., 28. Eph., iv., 11. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE THIRTY PAPAL SCHISMS. 

When were they first seated there ] it 
may still be asked in reply ; and have they 
never left that See T Was it Linus or 
Clement who began the series 1 If it was 
Linus, was he ordained by St. Peter or by 
St. PauH From the first incumbent to 
Victor, in the beginning of the third cen- 
tury, what were the names of the uninter- 
rupted successors ]* But leaving in this 
uncertainty the first links of this episcopal 
chain, let us see whether its succession is 
unbroken since Victor I. Assuredly, if scan- 
dalous and detestable schisms, which had 
already occurred as often as thirty times, 
have neither broken nor disunited these 
mysterious hnks, we affirm that their suc- 
cession has indeed never been interrupted. 

Where was it to be found, I ask, in the 
fourth century, when two popes, Liberius 
and Felix, both Arians, opposed their in- 
trigues, their baseness, and their arms to 
each other! Let the historians of the 
Church of Rome be interrogated on this 
subject, and they will be heard calling 
them monsters, perjured, scourges, and 
Antichrists. Yet, both these popes, though 
execrated during their lives, were canon- 
ized after their death, and are now two of 
those saints before whose images candles 
burn, and Romish worshipers bend the 
knee ! What a succession of darkness and 
pollution ! 

Nor was it otherwise in the sixth cen- 
tury, when Silverius, after having obtained 
the papal chair by simony, was driven 
from the See of Rome by a council, which 
called him an apostate, a thief, a robber, a 
heretic, a magician, and a pagan ; when, at 
the same time, and by the same means, 
Vigilius was hired by a heretical and per- 
fidious empress, with the sum of seven hun- 
dred pieces of gold, to assume the pontifi- 
cal chair, and with him were exalted mur- 
der, avarice, impurity, and all other crimes I 
Is this what is intended by apostolical suc- 
cession ? 

Or is it to be found, reader, in the person 
of Formosus, in the ninth century, who, in 
spite of his oaths, and through the medium 
of the sword, usurped the papal power by 
overthrowinff his rival, Sergius "? Can it 
be traced any more distinctly in Stephen, 
his successor, who had the corpse of the 
infamous Formosus dug up, his head and 



* Fluxa et duhia, quoe de pnmis pontificibtts ad Vic- 
torem usque tradimtur. Petav., ii., 130. Bruys„ L, 
27. Cossart, i., 1. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



his hands cut off, and his body dragged 
into the Tiber; and wlio, in his turn, be- 
came the victim of his crimes and turpi- 
tude ; was dethroned, loaded with chains, 
and, at hist, strangled in prison 1 Where in 
all this is the apostle, the imitator of St. 
Peter ; the " vase of honor, filled with the 
unction of the Holy Ghost ]" 

If we proceed to the eleventh century, 
we must look for this divine succession, and 
the vicar of the Lord Jesus, in the person of 
a Benedict, who was elected pope at the age 
of twelve years, and, after having passed 
ten succeeding years in debauchery, was 
dethroned by Sylvester ; afterward sold 
the pontifical chair to John XIX. for fif- 
teen hundred pounds ; when the latter, 
having intrenched himseli* in St. Mark, 
Sylvester in the Vatican, and Benedict in 
St. John of Lateran, these three popes 
(or robbers ?) agreed to divide the revenues 
of the Church, and spend them in their de- 
baucheries ; till a fourth competitor came 
forward and purchased their pretensions, 
and constituted himself, also, a holi/ father, 
under the name of Gregory VI. ! ! 

But all this is small in comparison with 
what followed. That pretended succession, 
which we have already seen annihilated 
and rendered ridiculous, will in vain be 
sought for in that great Western Schism, 
as It is called, which, during more than 
half a century, revived the collected and 
accumulated excesses of all the other 
schisms. Reader, let us look at its history. 

In 1378, the cardinals elected, at the 
same lime, two popes. The one. Urban, 
occupied the See at Rome, and the other, 
Clement, resided at Avignon. Both being 
chosen by the sacred college, each was, 
for that reason, recognized to be the vicar 
of Jesus Christ, and the infallible head of 
the Church ; Clement by part of the na- 
tions of Europe ; Urban by the rest of 
Christendom. Each, then, acted as the 
legitimate and only successor of St. Peter ; 
and each, by th^ divine authority which he 
possessed, anathematized his colleague as 
a heretic, infamous, a usurper, and the son 
of Satan ; and, with him, all the kings, 
people, and nations that recognized and 
obeyed him. 

The nations espoused these quarrels ; 
disputes and wars were incessant ; till, in 
1409, the cardinals of both popes assem- 
bled at Pisa in a regular council, repre- 
senting the universal Church, deposed both 
these rivals, and nominated a third, Alex- 
ander v., who became the true successor 
of St. Peter. The struggle thus became 
more comphcated, and it w^ only termi- 
nated when, in 1414, the Comicil of Con- 
stance deposed John XXIIL, successor 
of Alexander V., and condemned him as 
abominable, execrable, accursed, and guil- 
ty of the most shameful and atrocious 
crimes, Martin V. was then elected, and 



the other two popes, though deprived ot 
their title, were nevertheless covered witn 
honors. All this, let it be observed, took 
place during the same sessions at which 
ihose pious and undaunted advocates of 
the Bible, John Huss and Jerome of Prague 
(perfidiously betrayed, and judged by mis- 
creants), were given up to death, and the 
flames of their stakes lighted the numer- 
ous retreats where the fathers of that coun- 
cil were wallowing in corruption ! Church 
of Rome, is it here that we are to learn 
the boasted apostolical succession of thy 
bishops 1 

Finally : it is difficult to discern it in the 
middle of the fifteenth century, when the 
two champions, Eugenius and Felix, came 
to the struggle for the papal power. Euge- 
nius IV. was pope. The Council of Basle 
decreed that the pope was subject to the 
councils. Eugenius resisted it; and the 
triple crown was immediately taken off 
that head, so proud, rebellious, heretical, 
simoniac, perjured, and schismatic. Ame- 
deus, duke of Savoy, under the name of 
Ye\\x v., was put in the place of Eugeni- 
us ; and each, according to the ancient 
custom, excommunicated his rival ; the 
Church at Rome, which is, we are told, 
" the pillar and prop of the truth," was 
anathematized on both sides, by two popes, 
each of whom was cursed by his colleague ! 
Eugenius died, and Nicholas V. succeed- 
ed him. He declared all the acts of the 
Council of Basle to be void ; and Fehx 
and he exchanged the fire of their mutual 
anathemas, till Felix abdicated both his 
title and his infallibility. By his retreat, 
however, he did not terminate the enmi- 
ty of the two parties, which is still perpet- 
uated and active in our days, and still 
bears testimony, to all who will regard it, 
that the apostolical succession of the popes 
is a senseless and arrogant dream ; and 
that to speak of it seriously as a verity is 
to proclaim our deficiency both in histori- 
cal knowledge and in the love and belief 
of the truth. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE ANTICHRIST. 



If these things are so, is not the papacy, 
in assuming to be what God has not made 
it, evidently that " man of sin" and " son 
of perdition" whom the Apostle Paul so 
minutely describes ?* Is it not he that 
" opposeth and exalteth himself above all 
that is called God or that is worshiped V 
Did not a pope place his foot on the neck 
of the Emperor Frederic, pronouncing the 
words which the Scriptures apply to Mes- 
siah : " 'I'hou shdlt tread upon the lion and 
adder ; the young lion and the dragon shalt 
thou trample under foot ]"t Has not the 



* 2 Thess., ii. 



t Alexander III. Ps. xci., 13. 



HER WORSHIP. 



53 



Pope of Rome exalted himself to sit as 
God " in the temple of God, showing- him- 
self that he is God?" Does he not allow 
himself to be called God 1 Has he not 
himself said that "he is a god on earth V* 
Was not a triumphal arch erected to him, 
with an inscription to the same effect ■?! 
Was it not said to him, in the Councils of 
Lateran, that he had all power in heaven 
and on earth 1% Is he not worshiped at 
the altar, on the day of his accession to 
the pontifical throne l^ Does he not also 
assume the prerogative of God, in calling 
himself infallible, and in placing his decis- 
ions above the Holy Scriptures, which he 
changes or mutilates "? 

Do we not, then, see exemplified and ful- 
filled in the papal power, the mystery of 
iniquity, whose coming is after the work- 
ing of Satan, with all power, and signs, and 
lying wonders, and- all deceivableness of 
unrighteousness in them that perish 1 Have 
not its origin and progress been marked 
by works of darkness, pretended revela- 
tions, spurious miracles, false legends, and 
every kind of superstition and idolatry, 
and, as the legitimate consequence, the 
seduction of souls, from whom it with- 
holds the Word of the living God ? And 
are not these the features of Antichrist 1 
This was the opinion of several Romish 
bishops and doctors, whose testimony is 
clear and explicit. 

The eloquent Bishop of Clairvaux la- 
ments that the poison of hypocrisy has in- 
fected all the branches of the Church, in 
which the ministers of Christ are subject- 
ed to the Antichrist. II Pope Gregory I. 
himself said, with assurance, whoever at- 
tributes the universal priesthood to him- 
self, is the forerunner of Antichrist.^ The 
Bishops of Cologne and Treves wrote to 
Pope Nicholas I., Whoever, at the same 
time that he calls himself the servant of 
servants, makes himself the Lord of lords, 
as if he were God, and says, " I cannot 
err," he is that man of sin, whose name 
is Antichrist.** The Bishop Arnulph, in 
one of the Councils of Rheims, after hav- 
ing deplored the corruption of the Church, 
declared that a pope devoid of charity, and 
puffed up with his knowledge, is nothing 
else than Antichrist.ff Aventinus, in his 



* Greg. II., Epist. ad Leon. 

t Sixtus IV., Et merito in terris diceris esse Deus. 

t Zoder. Zamor., ii., 1. Albam., De pot. Pap., 
part i., 22, Anthon., part iii., 22. 

^ An individual, whose veracity is unimpeachable, 
told me that, when at Rome, he had an interview 
with the' pope, who, while speaking to him, placed 
his hand on his arm. After the pope had retired, 
one of the cardinals approached my friend, and, with 
an awe-struck countenance, asked him if he was 
not very happy to have spoken with God on earth, and 
to have been toiiched by him ! My friend answered, 
*' Blaspheme not .'" 

II Bernard., Serrn. 33, in Cant. cant. 

if Greg.,lib. iv., ejp. 34. ** Avent., Ann., lib. iv. 

tt Fourth Council of Rheims, in the 10th century, 



Annals, adduces the writings of several 
doctors and the edict of the Emperor Lou- 
is IV., or, rather, V., which contain the 
same sentence. 

On these facts the reader must form his 
own judgment. As for my own, it is more 
and more convinced, by this examination, 
that the unity, infallibility, Catholicism, 
antiquity, and apostolical succession of 
the Church of Rome are absolutely over- 
thrown by the Holy Scriptures. 

I might, then, close my examination 
here, and remain satisfied with this con- 
viction, that the Romish Church, such as 
she now is, is not that to which God has 
intrusted the administration of salvation ; 
an opinion which agrees with that which 
I formed respecting this Church as to the 
revelation of salvation ; but there are 
still several points which, though of no 
force or importance without the basis of 
a divine and infallible Church, yet they are 
of such a nature as to require to be con- 
fronted with the testimony of God. Will 
the reader, then, accompany me further in 
this apparently superfluous, but, neverthe- 
less, necessary research ? 



CHAPTER X. 

THE WORSHIP OF THE CHURCH OF ROME. 

It is with reluctance that I enter upon 
this portion of my examination. What 
can I expect that is vivifying or consoling- 
to my heart from doctrines not founded 
on the Word of God, and whose origin and 
end are at variance with the Holy Spirit \ 
What heavenly result can I hope for from 
a religion which does not possess either 
divine unity in its belief, divine certainty in 
its teaching, or divine firmness in its in- 
stitutions ; and which, under a vain pre- 
tence to supremacy, enthrones itself on 
its own haughtiness, whence it would crush 
the humble, but invincible faith of the dis- 
ciples of the Bible ] 

Yet I will pursue this investigation, pray- 
ing the Lord Jesus to preserve my spirit 
in His peace, and, notwithstanding my con- 
victions, to enable me to remember that, if 
my neighbor is misled or wanders, I should 
not add to his misery either by scornful 
abuse or severe reproaches. 

^ 1. PRAYERS AND CHANTING IN THE LATIN 
TONGUE. 

On entering a temple where the wor- 
ship of Rome is performed, I feel a solemn 
and mysterious impression made upon my 
senses by something like devotion. I be- 
hold sumptuous canopies, statues of ex- 
quisite workmanship, pictures of a tragic 
and pathetic character, numerous priests 
dressed in splendid robes, richly-adorned 

the eleventh held in that city. Fr. Turret., De ne- 
cess. Secess., disp. 7. Sharp., De Antichristo,p. 1656. 



54 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



altars, surmounted by candles and lamps 
which burn constantly, amid sweet-smell- 
ing odors ; the deep tones of the organ, 
echoing beneath the arched roofs, and 
through the aisles of the building ; bells, 
with repeated and solemn sounds, calling 
the people together, and giving them the 
signal of worship, and crowds prostrate on 
their knees in profound silence. At length 
all speak together — men, women, and chil- 
dren, answering each other, or following 
the priest in his ceremonies, singing, pray- 
ing, and exclamations. But, after all, they 
have said nothing; they "speak into the 
air," and utter " uncertain sounds ;" for 
they speak in a foreign and an unknown 
tongue. Are they, then, " mad," accord- 
ing to the language of an apostle 1* It is 
a prayer they are repeating, but what is 
its meaning 1 " We do not know," they 
reply. 

• My heart was grieved, and my sorrow 
multiplied, when I heard the preacher, who 
aught the people from the pulpit, quote 
the Word of God (which he did very sel- 
dom) in that same language, which his 
hearers could not understand. Filled with 
sadness, I left that temple ; and on my way 
I approached a man of my age and of an 
intelligent appearance, to whom I express- 
ed my grief. 

" Oh !" he replied, " it is one of the com- 
mandments of the Church. t Latin is our 
holy tongue." 

" But the Scriptures are still holier, and 
they expressly forbid that practice." 

" I grant it," said he ; " but the Church, 
which cannot err, being infallible, has good 
reasons for pursuing it, notwithstanding." 
" What, contrary to the will of God !" 
" Oh ! God wishes it also, since He is 
with His Church." 

" But He is with her by His Word, and 
not otherwise." 

" It may be so. But the Church thinks 
that devotion is rather hindered than as- 
sisted by a familiar tongue. "J 

"The Scriptures say just the contra- 
ry, since the employment of strange lan- 
guage, in teaching from the Word, is sta- 
ted as a ground of the divine displeas- 
ure."^ 

" No matter. The Church is infallible, 
and as, in ancient times, her service was 
performed in the Latin tongue, it is prop- 
er that that apostolical custom should con- 
tinue, so as to maintain the unity of the 
Church in every place." 

" But you forget that the Latin tongue 
was anciently the vernacular language of 
the people ; God, therefore, wished then, 



* 1 Cor., xiv., 7, 9, 23. 

t Cone. Trid., sess. xxii., c. 8. Bellarm., Be 
Verba Dei, ii., 15. 
t Staplet. Jesuita, Contra Juei, a. 3, p. 75. 
4 1 Cor., xiv., 17-22. Is., xiviii., U. 



as he now wishes, the people to understand 
the worship of the Church." 

" Perhaps so ; but the Church esteems 
it sufficient for the people to pray, give 
thanks, and sing, by intention, without join- 
ing the meaning of the words to it." 

" But the Scriptures say that he who 
does this, is like ' a trumpet that gives an 
uncertain sound.' "* 

" That may be ; but the Church cannot 
err, and she wishes the people to depend 
on the priests, who know what the prayers 
or hymns mean. We ought to believe the 
Church implicitly, without understanding 
her."t 

" But the Scripture itself is intelligible, 
and, I say once more, it forbids, and con- 
demns the practice of the Church of Rome 
in this matter." 

" The Scriptures ! you say. Ah ! what 
would the people become, were the Bible 
given themT Do not our most learned 
doctors say that ' to give them to the peo- 
ple is to degrade them ; to commit to work- 
men or servants the keys that should only 
be in the hands of the priests. 'J What an 
abuse would that be !" 

" An abuse ! that the people should them- 
selves understand the voice of God, and be 
able to pray also in their own language !" 

" I have already said, with the Church, 
' Let them repeat the words of the priest ; 
that is enough.'" 

" But the Apostle Paul has said that he 
' had rather speak five words with his un- 
derstanding, that by his voice he might 
teach others also, than ten thousand in an 
unknown tongue.' "^ 

" St. Paul thought so, but the Church has 
always judged otherwise." 

CONTRARY TESTIMONY. 

" Not always ; for, among other fathers 
of the Church, the great Basil tells us, on 
the contrary, ' that the unanimous habit of 
all the churches is, that each should offer up 
his prayers to God in his own language ; 
for,' he adds, ' if the meaning of a prayer is 
unknown to him that hears it, the design of 
him who offers it is frustrated, since those 
who are present reap no advantage from 
it.'ll 

"'Each nation,' Origen affirms, 'prays 
to God, and addresses its worship to him, 
not in the very words of the sacred text, 
but in its own language ; the Greeks in 
the Greek idiom, and the Romans in that 
of Rome ; and he who is Lord of all lan- 
guages hears the prayer that each address- 
es to him.'*|[ 



* 1 Cor., xiv., 6-9, 23. 
t Catech. Cone. Trid., pars i., art. 21. 
i Sixtus Sen., Bibl. Ann., lib. vii., an. 152. Alb. 
Pighius, Epist. ad Erasm., i., 16. 
§ 1 Cor., xiv., 19. 

II Bas., Epist., 63. Regul. brev. tract. 
IT Oijgen, Cont. Cels., lib. viii. (1575, R. C), 



HER WORSHIP. 



55 



" Augustine, also, declares, that ' no one 
is edified by words which he does not un- 
derstand. Let our hymns,' he says, ' arise 
to God in accents that we understand, and 
not like those of birds. For blackbirds, 
parrots, magpies, crows, and other birds of 
a similar kind, often learn to pronounce 
words whose meaning is unknown to them. 
But it is hymns whose meaning is known 
to us that the Divine will appoints for 
mankind.'* 

" ' He who speaks a language that he 
does not understand,' says Chrysostom, 
• -is useless to others as well as to himself. 
And if we take great pains, when we play 
an the lute or the flute, to make those life- 
less instruments give sounds that recreate 
our minds, how much more necessary it is 
that men gifted with reason should, espe- 
cially in spiritual things, make themselves 
to be understood, and should understand 
themselves I'f 

" ' Would you assemble the Church to 
edify it,' says Ambrose, 'pronounce words 
that your hearers understand. 'J 

" ' If we do not comprehend the psalms 
we sing,' says Cassiodorus, ' we appear as 
insane.'^ 

" This is what the fathers have taught. 
How can you, then, say that the Church 
has always pursued this course 1" 

" Well ! the Church is infallible. If she 
has changed her opinion, she has done 
right." 

"But, I repeat once more, she should 
have consulted the Scriptures." 

" Ah ! the Scriptures ! always the Scrip- 
tures ! The Church cannot err ; and, . . . if 
any one opposes her, ... he will perish." 

Reader ! this conversation did not satisfy 
me, and I could not but exclaim, at the 
close of it, " Lord ! I bless thee that, when 
I pray to thee, or sing thy praises with my 
brethren, my soul knows what it addresses 
to thee, and can join in saying Amen at the 
giving of thanks by thy Church !"|| 

I cannot perceive that the administration 
of salvation has been intrusted by the Lord 
Jesus to the Church of Rome. 

^ 2. THE EUCHARIST. 

An imperishable monument of His infi- 
nite love has been placed on earth by Je- 
sus, who was pleased to form it, with his 
almighty hand, of the most common and 
simple elements. From a little bread 
which the earth produces, and a few drops 
of the fruit of the vine, he, the Christ of 
God, constituted his sovereign word an un- 
changeable and touching emblem of his 
eternal love. The monuments, the triumph- 



al arches, all the trophies of the numer- 
ous monarchs of the earth, totter on their 
foundations, and the marble masses, de- 
voured by time, crumble and fall ; but 
these simple memorials of the Crucified 
descend, through all ages and generations, 
unchanged; and thus the Lord's Supper 
proclaims, from age to age, that gospel of 
grace, " the Word was made flesh"—" the 
Lamb of God was slain."* With what emo- 
tions must I contemplate this monument 
of the love of God in that ancient Church, 
who tells me she has preserved the insti- 
tutions and customs of the Apostles in 
their primitive form ! 

I read in the Book of God, that "the 
Lord Jesus, the same night on which he 
was betrayed (being at the table with his 
disciples, on the night of the Passover), 
took bread, and, when he had given thanks, 
he brake it, and said, " Take, eat ; this is my 
body which is broken for you ; this do in 
remembrance of me ;" that then he also 
" took the cup, saying. This is my blood. 
This cup is the new testament in my blood. 
Drink ye all of it."t And they all drank 
of it.j What a feast of love and brotherly 
communion ! The Lord distributes the el- 
ements that he blesses, and his redeemed 
take it themselves from his hand, and par- 
ticipate together in it ! Oh ! how touching, 
how solemn an institution! What sim- 
plicity, and, at the same time, what power 
in that communion of the Church ! God 
himself spreads his table with his own 
hands, and the eternal Spirit, who fills the 
hearts of the faithful with thanksgiving 
and praise, covers it with heavenly food I 
How sweet it will be to find the Supper 
of the Lord in its primitive beauty, and sit 
down, as it were, with the Apostles, at 
their own table, which their ancient Church 
has preserved ! 

With these feelings I enter a Romish 
temple, on a day on which the Eucharist is 
to be celebrated ; I advance, looking ea- 
gerly for the table of the Lord, spread with 
his bread and his wine ; but I do not find 
them. In their place I see only wor- 
shipers kneeling in front of an altar, before 
a priest, who, after having told them to hold 
the head straight, the eyes cast downward, the 
mouth moderately open, the tongue a little ad- 
vanced on the edge of the lips, and the com- 
munion cloth stretched under the chin,^ dex- 
terously places a little piece of bread m 
their mouth, which he calls victim,|| and 
which the communicant must avoid chewing! 
Why is this ] thought I. This is not ac- 
cording to the Saviour's mind ; for he told 



* August., in Gen., xii., 8 : Nam et merulas etpsittaci 
et corvi et piece, et hujus modi volticres, etc. De Catech. 
rud., c. viii., torn, vi., 27 (R. C). 

t Horn. 35th on 1 Cor., c. xiv. 

i Am., in 1 Cor., xiv. 

^ Cass., in Psalm xlvi. II 1 Cor., xiv., 16. 



* John, i., 14. 1 Peter, i., 19. Rev., v., 12. 

t 1 Cor., xi., 23-29. Matth., xxvi., 26, 27. Mark, 
xiv., 22-25. Luke, xxii., 19, 20. 

% UiETe el avTov ttovts? (Matth., XXVl., 27). Kat 
emov il avrov Travrej (Matth., xiv., 23). 

{) Abridgment of the Catechism, etc., p. 54. 

II In Latin, hostia. 



56 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



his disciples (and his word does not change) 
to break the bread, to take it themselves, and 
to eat It.* Why, then, this strange cere- 
mony, or, rather, why this formal disobe- 
dience of what is written 1 

I wait to see what will be done with the 
CUP, and still wait ; the communicants pass 
on and successively retire, and no cup is 
given them. I exclaim, involuntarily, No 
CUP T and immediately the whole assembly 
turns toward me ; the priests look at me 
with anger, and one of them hastens to 
order me instantly to quit the temple. 
" Pardon me," I Say to him, excusing my- 
self; "that exclamation escaped me in- 
voluntarily. I am desired to join your 
Church, and in order not to do it before 
having heard, and having seen with my own 
eyes,t I came to be present at the Eucha- 
rist, and I confess, what I have just seen 
has altogether astonished me." 

" Hush ! hush !" said the priest, leading 
me, but politely, into the sacristy. " Let 
us not disturb the faithful. Come with me ; 
I can instruct you on all these points." 

" You perceive," I say to him (when we 
are alone), " I am dissatisfied, I am ac- 
quainted with the Bible ; I know how the 
Lord Jesus instituted the Holy Supper, and 
I see that you disobey him, as, by his com- 
mand, the faithful should ' take and eat the 
broken bread,'' and that he should also ' take 
and drink' of the cup ; and that is not done 
here." 

The Priest. " Did you not see the bread 
given to the communicants V 

The Candidate. " The Lord said, Take 
and eat, speaking of the bread ; you say, 
Receive and swallow, which is not the same 
thing. Moreover, it is written that the 
Lord brake the bread; that the faithful 
brake the bread ; and, in the consecration 
of the Supper, St. Paul said, 'The bread 
■which we break. ''% But you, on the con- 
trary, give an entire host, which must not 
be broken. You, then, do not obey the 
Holy Scriptures." 

The Priest. " The Church, who is infal- 
lible, has determined that it should be so." 

The Candidate. " But are not the Scrip- 
tures infallible, in the first place ; and, 
among other things, do they not command 
the people to take the cup and drink of it 1 
Why, then, does the Church of Rome sup- 
press it V 

The Priest. " For six reasons.^ Listen : 
1st. Because we must, above all things, take 
care that the blood of the Lord should not 
fall on the ground." 

The Candidate. " The ' blood of the Lord,' 
say you ! But it is wine the cup contains." 

The Priest. "Have patience. We will 
see that in a moment. I then say. 



* Tdv apjov ov kXwjxev (1 Cor., x., 16). AdSeie, (pdyere 
(1 Cor., xi., 24). t 1 John,!., 1. 

t Matth., xxvi,, 26. Acts, ii., 42, 4^. 1 Cor., x., 
16. ^ Catech. Trid., pars ii., art. 71. 



" 2dly. Because, as the Eucharist is taken 
to the sick, the wine, if kept too long, 
might become sour.* 

" 3dly. Many communicants could not 
support either the smell or taste of wine. 

" 4thly. Thus the Church has most pru- 
dently decreed that, in the spiritual food, 
all that might injure the health of the 
bodies of the faithful should be removed 
from them. 

" 5thly. Besides, what an expense would 
the use of wine occasion in countries 
where it is wanting. 

" 6thly. But, above all,, was it not ne- 
cessary to tear away that detestable here- 
sy which dares to say that the Lord Jesus 
is not entire in one of the kinds V 

The Candidate. " Entire in the bread, and 
entire, also, in the wine ! What, sir ! the- 
blood of the Lord was not separate and 
distinct from his body, when the latter was- 
nailed to the cross, and the blood flowed 
from it on the earth 1" 

The Priest. " ' Cursed be he,' says the- 
Church, ' who affirms that God command- 
ed the Church to commune in both kinds ! 
Cursed, also, be he who denies that Jesus 
Christ is not entire in the bread and entire 
in the wine ! Cursed, finally, be he who says 
that the Church is therein mistaken !' "f 

The Candidate. " Would you, then, give 
the people the wine alone, just as you do 
the bread !" . 

The Priest. " As the consecrated wine, 
though it be blood, still keeps its taste, the 
people, who always judge by the senses 
only, might imagine that it is still nothings 
but wine, and thus their faith would be 
shaken by it. The host has no taste ; it 
does not, therefore, present the same dan- 
ger." 

The Candidate. " I understand, sir ; the 
taste of the wine contradicts the decree of 
the Church." 

The Priest. " It is prudent, you are 
aware, to avoid such discrepancy." 

The Candidate. "But, sir, would it not 
be more so to respect what the Lord says- 
when he declares that we need just as- 
much to drink the blood of the Son of Man, 
as to eat his flesh, in order to have life in 
usr't 

The Priest. " This precept is general ; 
now, as the Church is but one single body, 
that duty is sufficiently observed if only a 
few of its members perform it. Their 
work is peculiar, it is true, but its efficacy 
is general. The priest takes the cup and 
drinks, and the whole Church drinks br/ 
him /"^ 

Reader, I was astounded. I knew not 



■^ Si diviiiis vini species asservaretur, coacesceret (ubi 
supra). 

t Cone. Trid., sess. xxi., can. 2. Rhemist., in Jo- 
han., vi., sect. xi. Bellarm., De Etichar., lib. iv., 20», 
21, &c. t John, vi., 53. 

^ Bellarm., De Euchar., lib. iv. 



HER WORSHIP. 



57 



what I heard, nor whether it was not the | 
voice of one of those of whom " the Spirit 
speaketh expressly," and who, •' giving 
heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of 
devils," speak lies in hypocrisy, having their 
consciences seared with a hot iron* But I 
rejected this thought, and presuming that 
it was through ignorance, and in all sin- 
cerity, that the priest spoke to me thus, 
I answered him : 

The Candidate. " Indeed, sir ! Then, 
when the Lord Jesus, giving the cup in 
the Holy Supper, said to the disciples. 
Drink ye all of it, He meant, Let one of 
you drink for the whole !"t 

The Priest. " It was to the apostles, that 
is to say, to the priests, that He gave that 
order, for it was to them alone that he 
said. Hoc facite {do this) ; and all the apos- 
tles, also, drank of it."| 

The Candidate. "Then, sir, the Church 
of Corinth, which, by-the-way, was very 
large, ^ was composed of priests only, since 
St. Paul, when he taught them as to the 
manner of celebrating, told them express- 
ly, Let every man examine himself, and 
so let him eat of that bread and drink of 
that cup r\\ 

The Priest. " The interpretation of this 
passage belongs to the Church, and since 
she declares, through the most holy Coun- 
cil of Trent, that ' all she command^ has 
always been,' it is evident, to me that at 
the time of the Apostles the cup was not 
given to the people." 

CONTRARY ROMISH TESTIMONY. 

The Candidate. " Let me, however, re- 
mind you that it was not until the fifteenth 
century, and by the Council of Constance 
(1415),^ that the Communion in two kinds 
was abolished, and then by a decree which 
says, that ' though Jesus Christ instituted 
that venerable sacrament after supper, and 
though he administered it in two kinds, 
and though the Church had observed it till 
then, nevertheless, the Council, assembled 
by the Holy Spirit, decreed that thence- 
forth and in time to come, the officiating 
priests only should receive the two kinds, 
but the laity that of the bread alone ; order- 
ing that every heretic who should dare to 
advance any contrary sentiment should be 
banished and punished by the inquisitors.' 
And the immediate result of that new dogma, 
you have not forgotten, sir, was, that John 
Huss and Jerome of Prague were burned alive 
for having maintained, with the Bible, ' that 
Christians should, in the Lord's Supper, 
take the wine as well as the bread ! !' " 

The Priest. " I know it, and I also know 
that the ^rmy of the Callixtines, their wor- 
thy partisans, had for their standard and 



* 1 Tim., iv„ 1, 2. 
t Mark, xiv., 23. 
II 1 Cor., xi., 28. 
H 



t Matth., xxvi., 27. 
4 Acts, xviii., 10. 
IT Sess. xiii. 



watchword that cup which they preferred 
to obedience and charity. What ferocious 
and brutal heresy !" 

The Candidate. " They had the examples 
of the fathers of the Church before their 
eyes, and those also of your own doctors. 
Be so kind, I entreat you, as to take notice 
of those I shall name. 

" Cyprian told them, speaking of those 
who might be martyrs, ' How shall we 
teach them to shed their blood for the 
name of Christ if we refuse them the blood 
of Christ 1 or how will they be prepared to 
take the cup of martyrdom, unless they are 
first admitted to the cup of the Lord in the 
communion of the Church V* 

" Chrysostom reminds them that ' if for- 
merly, under the Law, the priest alone ate 
what was offered, now, under the Gospel, 
all the people participate in the same bread 
and the same wine.'f 

" Ambrose declared to them that ' it is 
insulting the Lord to celebrate the Sup- 
per otherwise than He instituted it ; and 
that no one can call himself faithful if he 
gives it otherwise than its author first 
gave it !'| 

'■^Augustine wrote to them that ' the body 
and blood of Jesus Christ, representing 
the assemblage of His body and its mem- 
bers, are served on the table of the Lord, 
in some churches every day, and in others 
on appointed days. That thus the cate- 
chumens eat the body of the Lord at that 
table, and drink of the cup ; and that now 
not only no one is prevented from drinking 
that blood, but, on the contrary, all are ex- 
horted to drink of it.'^ 

" Again, a pope, Gelasius, gives his opin- 
ion to them ' that it would be preferable 
to abstain wholly from the Supper, rather 
than not to take it entire, for to break in 
two that mystery which is one, is a nota- 
ble sacrilege. 'II 

" Furthermore, Hugh of St. Victor en- 
couraged them to receive the Supper in 
the two kinds ; so that, as St. Ambrose 
says, the ' two efficacies of the sacrament 
may preserve both their bodies and their 
souls.'^ 

'^Thomas Aquinas, even, positively affirms 
that ' Christ is not sacramentally in the 
wine only, nor in the bread only ; it is 
therefore necessary, in order that the sac- 
rament should be rightly received, that 
it should be taken in the two kinds ; and 
that thus, according to the custom of the 
ancient Church, all those who take the 
body should also take the blood.'** 



* Cypr. Oper., Epist. 57 {Keary, Early Fathers). 

+ Chrys., Horn. 18 in 2 Cor. (Id.). 

X Ambr., Comm. in Epist., 1 Cor., xi. (Id.). 

^ August., In Johan., Tract, xxvi. (Id.). Ifefide et 
oper. (Id.). De Vet. et Nov. Test. (Id.). 

II Gelas. apud Gratian., De Consecr., Dist. 2. Com- 
perimus, etc. (Id.). 

^ Hugo Vict., torn, v., 6 (Keary, Early Fathers). 

** Aquin., 3 Qucest., 76, a. 2 (Id.). In Johan., vi. (Id.). . 



58 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



" You see, then, sir, that the orthodox 
Church of the first ages, the most esteem- 
ed prelates and doctors, sustained those 
heretics, those advocates of the cup in the 
Supper ; and afterward, a Cardinal du Per- 
ron, an Alphojise de Castro, and a Cassander, 
also sanctioned these Callixtines ; the first, 
in saying that ' the faithful disciple, who 
uses the wine as well as the bread, is more 
conformable to the institution of the sacra- 
ment, and understands better the distinc- 
tion between the body and the blood ;'* 
the second asserting that ' during several 
centuries, as the writings of the Fathers 
attest, it was the custom of the Church 
to celebrate the Supper in two kinds ;'t 
and the third, in bearing this decisive tes- 
timony : ' I have searched with care to find 
what was the habit of the primitive Church, 
and I have read and pondered the writings 
of those who have treated this subject ; 
but I confess that it has been impossible 
for me to find (though I much desired it) a 
single proof which sustained the commun- 
ion in one kind only. I am also convin- 
ced that it cannot be shown, at least during 
more than the first ten centuries, that the 
Eucharist was administered on the table 
of the Lord otherwise than in the two sym- 
bols of bread and wine.'| 

" Is not all this conclusive, sir, and am I 
not authorized by it to ask why the Church 
of Rome delights to contradict, in so posi- 
tive a manner, both the custom and the 
multiplied protestations of the universal 
Church, and, above all, the true institution 
of the Supper 1 As the spouse of the Son 
of God, she should submit to her Lord, 
and cannot do otherwise than He com- 
manded her." 



CHAPTER XL 

TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

The Priest. " Her Lord also told her, 
This is my body, giving her the bread; 
THIS IS MY BLOOD, giviug her the wine ; and" 
the Church believes it. She therefore ad- 
mits this mystery,^ that as Jesus Christ, 
when He pronounced these words, changed 
the bread and wine into His body and His 
blood, each priest also has the power of 
producing this change, and — " 

The Candidate. " Hush ! I beseech you, 
sir. It seems to me that you blaspheme 
against my Lord and King, in thus placing 
His holy and sublime Majesty at the dis- 
posal of a miserable sinner. You could 
not mean to say that. It would be im- 
pious." 

The Priest. " Be calm yourself, if you 



* Tract on Comm. in two kinds, p. 1108. 
t Alph. a Castro, Adv. Haeres. (D. R.). 
t Cassand., Consult, de utraq. spec. (D. R.). 
^ Abridgment of the Catechism, etc., p. 51. 



please. This is a profound mystery. 
Adore it with docility ; it is the Church 
who commands you. I say, then, that 
when, in the Holy Mass, the priest pro- 
nounces the words of the consecration, the 
bread and the wine are changed into the 
body and blood of Jesus Christ ; and that, 
moreover, as all in Christ is inseparable, 
His soul and divinity are also there. Not, 
of course, that Jesus Christ, for that rea- 
son, leaves heaven, but that then He is 
present in heaven and in the Eucharist at 
the same time. Thus the Church teaches ; 
it is, therefore, the truth."* 

The Candidate. " The truth ! What shall 
I say to you 1 Sir, from my childhood I 
have believed that the Word of God alone is 
the truth,] and I cannot change my persua- 
sion. Now what you have just told me 
is any thing but that Word, which teaches 
the communicant to take and eat the broken 
bread, and to take and drink of the cup, and 
that even (mark it) in commemoration of 
the Lord." 

The Priest. " But why do what is use- 
less ;| since Jesus Christ is entire in each 
of the two kinds as much as in both, as 
He is living and active in the Eucharist ?"§ 

The Candidate. " Do you say that Jesus 
is livifig and active in the Eucharist, in that 
host which you give the communicant ! Do 
you teach that Jesus is liviyig and active in 
that piece of dough ! ! Sir, do you speak 
honestly 1" 

The Priest. " Such is my belief, since 
that is what the Church teaches." 

The Candidate. " Do you believe unhesi- 
tatingly, and before God, that the apostles, 
when they received the bread which the 
Jjord broke for them, and the cup of which 
they all drank, thought that they received 
the body and the blood, the soul and the 
divinity of the Lord in themselves, and 
that they also thought that that bread 
which they ate, and that wine which they 
drank, were living and animated \ Sir, do 
you believe that the apostles had such a 
thought r' 

The Priest. " If they had not, would they 
not have made their Master a liar 1 Had 
not Jesus Christ declared to them that His 
flesh is the living bread, that it is meat in- 
deed, and that, to have life, one must eat 
it ?|| Did He not say this V 

The Candidate. " Why do you quote 
only half of what He said ] He said that, 
' except we eat the flesh of the Son of Man, 
and drink His blood, we have no life in 
us.' Taking you, then, on your own as- 
sertion, I ask you again, Why do you re- 



* Cone. Trid., sess. xiii, c. 2. Leo, De Pass., 
serm. 7. Bellarm., De Euchar. et de Missa libri, 
Catech. Trid., pars ii., tota. Abridgment of Catech., 
etc., lesson 33. t John, xvii., 17. 

X Cone. Trid., sess. xxi., De com. svb. utraq. spec, 
1, 2, 3, etc. ($» Abridgment of Catech., etc., p. 53, 

II John, vi., 48-58. 



TRAN SUBSTANTIATION. 



59 



move from the people the cup which the 
Lord gave them V' 

The Priest. " You will acknowledge that, 
in these words, Jesus Christ positively as- 
serted that the bread is His flesh, will you 
not r' 

The Candidate. " No, indeed. The Lord 
says, it is true, that His flesh is the living 
bread, but He does not say that bread made 
of grain is His flesh ; this is quite another 
thing. And allow me respectfully to re- 
mark, that it seems to me the Church of 
Rome makes frequent use of such kind of 
sophistry, using words, on ambiguous sub- 
jects, contrary to their natural meaning. 
This appears to me very evident in this 
case ; because the Lord calls His flesh 
(that is to say. His humanity) a heavenly 
food, a bread which gives life, you make 
Him say, not My flesh is bread, but bread is 
my flesh ; which is quite another idea. If 
the Saviour had said, ' I will give my flesh 
to the world under the form of bread,' you 
might perhaps thence infer that He meant 
the bread of the sacrament. But, on the 
contrary, He said that the bread which He 
would give, would be His flesh ; thereby 
teaching that His human nature sacrificed 
would become, by the Holy Spirit, the food 
of souls. He said, then, ' My flesh is truly 
a heavenly bread ;' but He never said, 
* An earthly bread ivill become my flesh.'' " 

The Priest. " Indeed, sir, it seems to me 
that all this is merely a quibble." 

The Candidate. " Well ! let us see. In 
showing a piece of meat on my table to 
my family, I say. This flesh is a nourishing 
bread (a food). And thereupon my children 
pretend that I said that the bread (which is 
also before them) is flesh. Do you think 
that this would be a quibble 1" 

The Priest. " But, after all, has not Je- 
sus Christ said, ' My flesh is meat indeed, 
and my blood is drink indeed V " 

The Candidate. " Doubtless ; but He did 
not say the bread and wine of the last 
Supper will be that flesh and that blood. Be- 
sides, what did He say, immediately after- 
ward, to those carnal Jews, who thought 
(just as the Church of Rome does) that 
the Lord Jesus would give them, in fact. 
His own flesh to eat, and His own blood 
to drink T Did he approve them, or, rather, 
did He not rebuke their gross mistake, 
saying to them : ' The flesh profiteth noth- 
ing,' ' The words that I speak unto you, 
they are spirit, and they are life V "* 

The Priest. "I am far, very far from 
granting it ; for, I repeat. He said. This 
is my body, speaking of the bread. The 
bread is, therefore. His body. This, then, 
is certainly decisive." 

The Candidate. " Was it also decisive 
that the beard and the hair of the prophet 



* 'H aap\ ovK (t)(p£\it ovSev. Ta p^ixara a fyw XaXZ 
vfiiv, TTveviid ion Kal ^wr} tan (John, vi., 63). 



I Ezekiel, when he cut them off* and threw 
them into the fire, according to the com- 
mand of the Lord, were really the city of 
Jerusalem ? And, again, was it also deci- 
sive that the Lord Jesus was indeed a door, 
and a vine, when he said, ' I am the door ; 
I am the vine ?' " 

The Priest. "All this was only figura- 
tive, and the very context shows it. But 
in the Eucharist, it is a sacrament that is 
in question ; the words of Jesus Christ have, 
therefore, a material sense here, for they 
are sacramental."* 

The Candidate. " But, sir, those words 
were also sacramental which the Lord pro- 
nounced when he said to Abraham, This 
is my covenant,^ speaking of circumcision, 
which certainly was but a figure or a seal. 
Those words were also sacramental, and 
more so than any others, which God pro- 
nounced when He instituted the sacrifice 
of the lamb, and when he said, This is the 
very passage (the passover) of the Lord.X 
Was the slain and roasted lamb ih.e passage, 
then, of the exterminating angel ; or, rath- 
er, was it only a sign and memorial 1^ 

" And, again, when St. Paul said of the 
rock of Horeb, whence the water flowed 
to refresh Israel in their journeys, that 
that rock was Christ, did he not say it both 
positively and sacramentally 1 What more 
mysterious, miraculous, and sacramental 
than that rock, that pure stone, as the 
Psalmist says, from which God created 
the river that constantly watered His peo- 
ple ? Now that Rock was Christ, says the 
Holy Spirit. II Does it mean that it was 
the body, the blood, the soul, and the di- 
vinity of the Son of God ? I think not." 

The Priest. " Nor I either, I assure you." 

The Candidate. " Well, then ! why, when 
the same words are pronounced, ' This is 
my body,' ' This is my blood,' are they 
made to bear a meaning which elsewhere 
cannot be admitted ? Does the mouth of 
God affirm less positively that circumcision 
was His covenant, that the lamb was His 
passage, and that the Rock of Horeb was 
Christ, than it aflirms that the bread was 
His body, and that the wine was His blood ? 
By what authority, then, do men say to 
God, on the one occasion, Thou saidst it 
figuratively ; and, on the other. Thou saidst 
it literally V 

The Priest. " The body and blood of Je- 
sus Christ, however, must be in the Encha- 
rist, as 'he that eateth and drinketh un- 
worthily shall be guilty of the body and 
blood of the Lord.' "f 



* Cone. Trid., sess. xiii., c. 5. Catech. Trid., pars 
ii., c. 20, 21, 22, 23, etc. 

t ^nnp nXI (Gen., xvil., 10). 

X r^Srvb Xin npS (Exodus, xii., 11). 

ij Exodus, xvii., 6. Numb , xx., 9. 

II 'H (5f mrpa riv h Xoictos (1 Cor., X., 4.) 

T 1 Cor., xi., 29. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



The Candidate. " Continue, then, sir, and 
give the reason of it. The apostle says 
it is because that the unworthy communi- 
cant discerneth them not. And why ? Be- 
cause that soul is not in Christ* It is for 
that, says Augustine, that it does not eat 
the Saviour spiritually. That soul is there- 
fore guilty, for the very reason that it takes 
the sign and monument of the love of Je- 
sus, without being united to Jesus hy faith. 
It therefore does it unworthily ; for, not 
having faith, it does not discern the Sav- 
iour. Do you not think it is thus V 

The Priest. " You are quite a reasoner, 
sir ; but it is a direct, simple, clear, and 
formal exposition that is here required ; 
and you have not yet produced it." 

The Candidate. " Do you think so 1 Well ! 
here, at length, is that simple and formal 
explanation, if you are willing to receive 
it. In a city of France, I was present at 
an assembly of learned men, all members 
of the Church of Rome ; and one of them, 
who was a lawyer, asked me if it were 
possible to show him a passage of Scrip- 
ture which formally and undeniably op- 
poses the dogma of transubstantiation. I 
answered him, The Lord Jesus, in giving 
the Eucharist to His disciples, said to 
them, ' Do this in remembrance of me.' 
Now, I added, how can the Saviour be 
commemorated., if the Saviour is present at 
the Eucharist "? Does any one recall to 
remembrance a being who is present with 
him ? I do not know, sir, whether this 
passage will convince you, but I know 
that it appeared sufficient to him who put 
the question to me." 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE MASS. 



The Priest. " You, then, destroy the holy 
sacrifice of the mass V 

The Candidate. " Be so kind, I pray you, 
as to tell me what it is ; for I am a stranger 
here." 

The Priest. "The Eucharist has two 
ends : the one, to nourish our souls with 
heavenly bread ; the other, that the Church 
might have in it a perpetual sacrifice which 
expiates our sins of every day. There is, 
then, more than a simple sacrament in the 
Eucharist ; there is also an oblation. Now, 
not only is this oblation meritorious, but, 
still more, it is expiatory ; for this sacri- 
fice, which is eff'ected in the holy mass, 
which is its celebration, is the same ex- 
actly as that of the cross ; with this differ- 
ence only, that it is not bloody. The 
sacrifice is therefore not made, but it is re- 
newed."! 

* 2 Cor., xiii., 5. August., in Ps. xcviii. 

t Cone. Trid., sess. xxii. De sacr. MisscB,c. let 
3. Catech. Trid., pars iii., art. 75, et seq. Bellarm., 
De Eucharistia and De Missa. Cornelius a Lapide, 
in Hebr., viii., 8. 



The Candidate. " The sacrifice of Jesus 
renewed ! . . . . No, sir, no, that can never 
be true, so long as the Bible exists. Jesus 
Christ is God, and in Him all is unchange- 
ably fulfilled. If it was necessary, in the 
first ages, that the types and figures which 
represented Him, and which were only 
shadows, should be reiterated, and that thus 
the sacrifice of the Passover, or any other 
ordained by God, should be repeated in His 
temple, those perishable elements ceased, 
since the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was 
offered and the blood of the eternal covenant 
was spilt for the remission of the sins of 
many.* 

" Ah ! sir, it was not an imperfect love 
that the Saviour felt for His Church when 
He bore the sins of His people.^ No, when 
He took upon Himself the curse that those 
sins merited,! it was not for a few of them 
only. The High-priest was infinite ; the 
victim also was infinite ; and the expiation 
that He made was that which the very 
blood of God was to accomplish ; it was 
infinite like God. 

" Jesus was therefore not an aid only to 
His Church, but He is an infinite Saviour ; 
because there is nothing wanting in the 
amplitude nor the efficacy of His sacrifice. 
Therefore, to suppose that sacrifice to be 
repeated, is to deny that it is infinite, and^ 
consequently, that it is the very work of 
God. It is, then, formally denying the 
eternal divinity of the Lord Jesus. 

" Besides, sir, after what you have just 
said, I fear that the Church of Rome denies 
in reality ' Christ come in the flesh,'^ by 
that sacrifice of the mass, as you call it. 
For, if Jesus Christ is still offered up as a 
victim, it is evident that His first oblation 
was not sufficient. And if this was not suf- 
ficient, it is because He who offered it was 
not Himself sufficient. Then, he was not 
God, for every work of God is perfect. And 
this, sir, appears frightful to me ; for such 
an error is a heresy which attacks the 
very foundation of the faith." 

The Priest. " You are quite vehement,, 
sir ; but I think I may answer you by ask- 
ing, in my turn, if we do not sin daily, and 
if, consequently, we do not daily need that 
the sacrifice of Jesus should, by being pro^ 
longed, at least (as the word repeat fright- 
ens you), be apphed to wash these new 
pollutions r'll 

The Candidate. '• The Church of Rome, 
then, lowers the only and perfect sacrifice 
of the Son of God down to the level of 
those earthly ones of which it is written 
that they ' could never make the converts ~ 
thereunto perfect,'^ but were to be reitera- 
ted, that they might, at each time, take 



* Hebr., x., 8-10. 1 Pet., i., 18, 19. Hebr., xiii.,. 
20. Matth., xxvi., 28. 

t Is., liii., 5. 1 Pet., ii., 24. 

t Gal., iii., 13. ^ 1 John., iv, 1-3. 

II Catech. Trid., pars ii., c. 84, 85. f Hebr., x., 1. 



THE MASS. 



61 



away new pollutions !* How little she 
understands what were the types of the 
Law, and their fulfillment in Jesus!" 

The Priest. "1 told you that the sacri- 
fice of mass was, in a manner, a prolonga- 
tion or continuation^ merely of that of Jesus 
Christ." 

The Candidate. " "Whatever your ex- 
pressions may be, you speak quite differ- 
ently from God himself; and I will prove 
it. 1st. You affirm that the sacrifice of 
mass is expiatory ; but the Word of God 
denies it ; for it says, that ' without shed- 
ding of blood is no remission of sin ;'| and 
you yourself say that your sacrifice of the 
mass is not bloody. Then, according to 
the Scriptures, it is not expiatory. There- 
fore, it can neither wash away nor remit 
sins. In every way, then, it is delusive. 

" 2dly. You speak of a reiteration., a pro- 
longation, or a continuation of the sacrifice 
of the Saviour. I ask if, in this sacrifice, 
you consider the Lord Jesus as slain, or, at 
least, as dead "?" 

The Priest. " The passion of Jesus Christ 
is there found entire. He is, therefore, 
slain there ; He is made victim, and the 
very name of the host shows it to you." 

The Candidate. " This is unequivocal. I 
will now suggest a consideration which, 
perhaps, has not yet been presented to you, 
and to which, I presume, you have no an- 
swer." 

The Priest. " That means, I understand, 
that you will shut my mouth ! Let us see, 
then, sir ; try it." 

The Candidate. " The Bible says, by the 
mouth of St. Paul, that if Christ is not ris- 
en, our faith is vain ; that we are still in our 
sins. Now, in your sacrifice of the mass, 
you indeed slay, that is to say, you put 
the Lord, indeed, to death; but nowhere, 
and by no word, prayer, doctrine, or prac- 
tice do you recall Him to life, nor pro- 
nounce Him risen from the dead. There- 
fore, by your mass, destroying the resur- 
rection of Jesus Christ, whom you declare 
to be dead, and whom you perpetuate as 
such, you destroy, by that very fact, both 
your faith and that of the people, and you 
all remain together in your sins." 

At these words, the priest appeared to 
be troubled. This argument, of which he 
had not yet thought, pressed upon him, and 
he could not repel its force. He had just 
acknowledged that in the sacrifice of mass 
Jesus is slain, or made dead, and he search- 
ed in vain, in the whole course of that ser- 
vice, for a part of it that mentioned His 
resurrection, or which contemplated Him 
as risen. He had, therefore, to own that, 
in every way, the sacrifice of mass leaves 
the Saviour in death, and that thus the dec- 



* Hebr., x., 3, 11. Lev., xvi., 34. 

t Abridgment of the Catechism, eic.,\essox\ 37, p. 58. 

t Hebr., ix., 22 : Xw/Jjj aljxaTeKxvciag ov yivirai 



laration of St. Paul is applicable, that the 
faith of the communicant is then vain ; as 
it is to Jesus still dead that he unites him- 
self, and not to Jesus risen from the dead, 
whose infinite love it recalls and celebrates. 

I saw his perplexity, and that it was not 
diminished by my saying, " You see, sir, 
that Satan, in all the depth of his cunning, 
has not yet thought of that answer of the 
Word, and I doubt if he can oppose any 
thing to it. Either tell the Church of 
Rome to be so good as to raise Jesus from 
the dead, after having slain him, or else to 
confess that Jesus, remaining in death, be- 
comes of no effect to her, and she remains 
in her sins. The dilemma is complete ; 
and until, in your missal, you show me by 
what sacramental and almighty operation 
you recall Jesus from the dead, till you 
prove to me that as you, as priest, have 
the right and privilege of offering Jesus in 
sacrifice, so you receive, also, from the 
eternal Father and Spirit, the power and 
means of loosening the bonds of the tomb, 
and drawing Jesus from the abyss — you 
will allow me, sir, to declare, either that 
your sacrifice is no sacrifice, no death, 
real, sacramental, visible or invisible, be- 
ing found in it ; or else that, if the death of 
the Lamb is there found, in any sense you 
choose, either actual by immolation, im- 
plicit by prolongation, or only mystical by 
consecration, still, as no resurrection suc- 
ceeds that death, that sacrifice must be 
ruin for your whole Church, who thus re- 
mains in her sins, and whose faith is ren- 
dered void." 

The priest answered nothing ; and, after 
a few moments' silence, I continued : "This 
last argument, sir, might suffice, for it over- 
throws at once the whole scaffolding of the 
mass. I will, however, add two things 
which the Bible says farther about it. The 
one is, that the sacrifice of the Saviour, 
having been offered* once /or all, cannot be 
repeated. 

" The other, that it accomplished per- 
fectly, at once, all that it had to do, which 
makes its prolongation or continuation im- 
possible." 

The Priest. " The question is to know 
if this is the meaning the Church gives 
to Scripture ; for if each one interprets 
it in his own way, what becomes of the 
truth?" 

The Candidate. " Well, then, examine 
what the Church of Rome says on the pass- 
ages which I am about to quote. As for 
me, if they are clear, I shall understand 
them at once ; and then I will implicitly 
beheve what the Bible says. 

" Your high-priest, it says to Christians, 
' offered up himself once for all.' ' Christ 
does not offer Himself often,* for then must 
He often have suffered since the foun dation 

* Ov6 iva -KoWaKis Trpoa^fpji iavrov ^Hebr., ix., 25 ; 
vii., 29). 



62 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



of the world.' Here I think it is precise and 
very clear as to the repetition of the sacrifice 
of the Saviour. Your Church, then, which 
teaches that the daily sacrifice of mass is 
the same as that which was offered up on 
the cross, has made a very singular mistake. 
And as to that continuation of the sacrifice of 
Jesus of which you speak, it is likewise de- 
stroyed by that portion of the Word of God 
which says, ' Jesus Christ, by one offer- 
ing, hath perfected forever them that are 
sanctified.' ' For the offering of the body 
of Jesus Christ was made once for all.'* 
And also by this : Jesus Christ now ' once 
hath appeared to put away siN.'f You 
hear, sir, to put away sin. It is, there- 
fore, impossible that the sacrifice of Jesus 
Christ should be either repeated, prolonged, 
or continued, for it was perfect, and sin was 
put away. The Bible is, then, opposed to 
your doctrine." 

The Priest. " So that you agree with 
your Bible in believing that I, a priest, 
have neither the power nor the right to 
change the bread and wine of the Eucharist 
into the body and blood of Jesus Christ 1" 
The Candidate. "Do you mean to say, 
sir, that you have the right and power of 
a Creator?" 

The Priest. " ' Who ever saw things like 
this V exclaims, with rapture, one of the 
most holy doctors of the Church. ' He 
who created me has given me, if I may so 
speak, the right of creating himself; and 
he who created me without my participa- 
tion, is created by my instrumentality !' "J 
The Candidate. " Well ! sir, I affirm that 
it is Jesus who offers Himself (you have just 
heard it) ; and to imagine that man can 
make that oblation — that a miserable sin- 
ner like one of us, can offer his God, the 
Almighty, in sacrifice, is, in my opinion, a 
conception of which I cannot admit the 
existence without thinking of the depths of 
Satan.^ I cannot understand how a crea- 
ture, above all, how a poor sinner, can dare 
even to suppose such a thing possible." 

The Priest. " But if Jesus Christ gave 
me the order and power to do it when He 
said, ' Do this,'|| am I not in the way of 
duty in obeying him ]" 

The Candidate. " Do you speak serious- 
ly : do you, indeed, not perceive that the 
v^rords, 'Do this in remembrance of me,' 
were designed to invoke the disciples to 
celebrate the Supper, and not to direct a 
priest to sacrifice God l" 

The Priest. " You, then, altogether con- 
demn the adoration of the host, and — " 

* 'HyiaafJiivoi Iffuiv ol Slu rrji ~poc<f)opaq tov awfiaTog 
Tov I.X. itpaira'i, (Hebr., X., 10). Mt^ yap irpo<T(Pop^ rt- 
TtXdwKtv ek rl iirjvcKig Toi)j ayiaC^oiJiivovi (Ibid., v., 14). 

t Etf adcTTjciv dudpriai (Hebr., ix., 26). 

% Quis hulc rei vidit similia ? Qui creavit me {si 
fas est dicere), dedit mihi creare se, et qui creavit me 
sine me, creatur mediante me. — Gabr. Biel., In can. Mis- 
ses, lett. 4 (P. E.). <J Rev., ii., 24. 

11 Cone. Trid.j sess. xxii., c. 9, can. 2, 3. 



The Candidate. " Do you adore the host t" 
The Priest. " Does not adoration belong 
to God \ And is not the host God Him- 
self 1" 

The Candidate. " Well, sir ! I now under- 
stand what rending one's clothes means in 
the Scriptures, when something dreadful 
is heard. I could willingly rend mine on 
hearing your words ; for they make me 
tremble. You adore the host ! Was it for 
that, then, that I have seen the people fall 
on their knees in the streets and public 
places of some towns, when a Romish 
priest passed, bearing a certain vase T' 

The Priest. " In that vase was the con- 
secrated host. It was, then, before Jesus 
Christ that the faithful kneeled." 

The Candidate. " But how are the peo- 
ple sure that Jesus Christ is in the host ? 
I have heard (I may be mistaken) that, 
among other things, if the host was not of 
pure flour ; if the priest had not all the qual- 
ities necessary to consecrate ; if he who 
has baptized him had not the intention of 
baptizing him ; if the bishop who ordained 
him had not the intention of ordaining him ; 
if he who celebrated mass had not the in- 
tention of consecrating the elements ; if he 
has, by inadvertency, forgotten to pro- 
nounce the sacramental words, etc., etc. ; 
that in all these cases, the host is not con- 
secrated, and, consequently, that Jesus 
Christ is not in it ; that it is only dough.* 
How, then, can the people ever be sure that 
they do not worship merely a piece o 
bread ?" 

The Priest. " Well, the intention, then, 
takes the place of the act, and they are not 
guilty." 

The Candidate. " Poor people, from whom 
not only the memorial of the Saviour is 
taken away, but who are, besides, thrown 
into danger of the grossest idolatry ! And 
that is not all ; for I perceive that they are 
dead who celebrate the Eucharist in the 
Church of Rome, and even that they take 
pains to destroy brotherly communion be- 
tween each other." 

The Priest. " Explain your whole mean- 
ing, if 5''0u please ; these are only enigmas." 

The Candidate. " Here it is, then. 1st. 
The Gospel tells me that the believer has 
Jesus Christ in him,\ by the faith of his 
heart, and that it is for that, to wit, be- 
cause he is vivified by Christ, who is in 
him, that he partakes of the communion. 
It is not, then, to unite himself to Jesus 
that he does it, as Jesus is in him already ; 
but it is to render that life still more power- 
ful, and that union still more intimate, and 
to give thanks to God for it. The Church 
of Rome, on the contrary, tells me, Com- 
mune, so that Jesus may enter into thee, 
and vivify thee. Therefore, Jesus is not 



* Missale Romanum., De defect, circa Miss, occurr., 



etc. 



t 2 Cor,, xiii., 15. Rom., viii., 1-10. Gal., ii.,20. 



THE MASS. 



63 



yet in me, before I take the Eucharist. 
Therefore my soul is spiritually dead ; for 
it is written that he that hath not the Son^ 
hath not life* 2d. I see that it is not with 
the body of Christ that you Romanists 
take the communion ; but separately and 
for himself alone that each of you receives 
Jesus, entire, body, blood, soul', and divinity. '\ 
Now the communicant who touches an- 
other communicant while receiving an- 
other host, receives, in fact, another Jesus, 
also entire and complete. These two com- 
municants have, then, each their own ,- but 
they do not divide it between themselves, 
for it is impossible that Christ should be 
divided." 

The Priest. " But what kind of reasoning 
is this V What, sir, when you and I 
breathe the same air, or when we are be- 
neath the same sun, are we not in com- 
munion of air, of hght, and of heat ?" 

The Candidate. " Then neither of us en- 
joys separately for himself, and neither of 
us pretends to have either the air or the 
sun entire, substance, qualities, and power. 
We participate in them together, it is true, 
but we have not the idea of taking them 
entirely, each of us for himself. In the 
same way, sir, in the Lord's Supper, in 
that memorial of His love which He left 
His Church, the broken bread is divided 
between the disciples of the Saviour, and 
thus, as they are, by the Holy Spirit, being 
many, one bread and one body, so they are 
all partakers of that one bread.% 

" In the same way, again, as they believe 
that the blood of the only and perfect sac- 
rifice of the Son of God has washed them 
of their sins, and that it has delivered them 
forever from the curse ; in that faith which 
God once delivered to the saints,^ they 
take, according to the command of Jesus, 
the same cup, from which they all drink. 
This, sir, is what the Holy Spirit calls 
communion, which means the enjoyment in 
common with one another of the same 
blessing. II By the side of this fraternal 
Supper, what name should be given to the 
Eucharist, as you practice it in your 
church, where each is for himself, and where 
is found neither the ' cup of blessing,' nor 
the ' memorial' of a finished salvation V\ 

The Priest. " You are ignorant, I see, 
that by consecration the Eucharist be- 
comes the communion with the body and 
blood of Jesus Christ.''^ 

The Candidate. "The Bible says, sir, 
that the Supper is the communion of the 
body and of the blood,*^ and not with the 
body and with the bloody which is quite 



* Rom., viii., 9. 1 John, v., 12. 

t Abridgment of the Catechism, etc., p. 53. 

t 1 Cor., X., 16, 17. ^ Jude, 3. 

11 Chrys., Horn. 10 in Joh. 1 Cor., i., 9. 2 Cor., 
xiii., 13. 1 John, i., 3, 6, 7. 

^ Koii/ojvia Tov a'ifxaTOi • Koivwvi'arou adixaros (1 Cor., 
X., 16). 



another thing. For if I say that I com- 
municate loith the body or with the blood 
of the Saviour, that means that I unite with 
them. But if I speak of the communion 
OF the body and of the blood, I mean a 
participation of those things, in common 
with other persons. And this is what I mean 
by these last words, that the Scriptures 
teach that the bread broken and the wine 
poured out, being partaken of among the 
faithful, are to them the image of their 
common enjoyment of the life and of all the 
benefits of their Saviour. It is, then, to- 
gether, with thanksgiving, in one same 
faith and by one same Spirit, that they 
break this bread, and take and drink from 
this cup. What a difference, sir, there is 
between these two celebrations ! Is not 
yours, even in your own eyes, an incom- 
plete, fearful, disjointed work, without 
brotherhood ; and can you not see, on the 
contrary, the liberty of the grace, and the 
joy of the gratitude in the evangelical Eu- 
charist, which the true believer celebrates 
to recount his Lord's favors V 

The Priest. " And also, I suppose, to ap- 
pease God.''''* 

The Candidate. " Ah ! is not God already 
appeased ? When the Israelites celebra- 
ted the Passover each year, it was not that 
God might avert from their dwellings the 
blow of the exterminating angel, but it was 
to recall to mind and to give thanks for a 
deliverance obtained a long time before. 
In the same way, it is not to appease our 
kind heavenly Father, that we. His chil- 
dren, break the bread and take the cup of 
the Lord, but it is to give thanks to our 
God that ' He spared not His own Son, but 
delivered him up for us all' to the death of 
the cross ;t and, at the same time, to exhort 
and encourage one another to consecrate 
ourselves sincerely to His service. It is, 
then, in love, and not in fear, that we cele- 
brate the Supper of Jesus. Yes, it is as 
being already redeemed by His precious 
blood, that we together bless His name ; 
and in giving each other the cup of salva- 
tion, we magnify the tender mercies of 
our heavenly Father, for they are over all 
His works, and better than life."| 

The Priest. " So that, if I have understood 
you aright, you consider the Eucharist 
that the Church of Rome celebrates as an 
anti-apostolical institution, transubstanti- 
ation as corruption, contrary to the Word 
of God, and the holy sacrifice of mass as 
opposed both to the divinity of Jesus 
Christ and the doctrine of grace." 

The Candidate. " I thank you, sir, for 
the manifest attention you have given me. 
You have correctly summed up all I have 
said in a few words." 

The Priest. " In your system, pray, what 



* Abridg. of the Catech., etc., lesson 37. 

t Rom., viii., 31. 

t Ps. cxlv,, 9; Ixiii., 3. Is., Ixiii., 5. 



6* 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



do you make of the conformity of the 
Church of the first ages with the customs 
of the Church of Rome V 

1 was going to answer, when, the servi- 
ces being ended, several priests entered 
the sacristy. I therefore took leave of 
him who had so obligingly entertained me; 
and the next day I sent him some notes on 
the pretended conformity of the primitive 
Church with the doctrines of the Church 
of Rome, as to the Lord's Supper, of which 
the following is an extract. 

OPINIONS OF THE FATHERS. 

If most of the Fathers have called the 
Lord's Supper " the body and blood of 
Jesus Christ ;" and if even, when speaking 
of it, they have sometimes used the word 
sacrifice, it is easy to perceive that they 
neither thought that the bread and wine 
of the Supper were changed in their na- 
ture by consecration, nor that a sacrifice 
■was made in the celebration of the Eu- 
charist, nor that the cup was to be taken 
from the people. Let us look at some 
proofs of it. 

1st. The idea of a sacrifice in the sacra- 
ment is expressly rejected by Justin Mar- 
tyr (A.D. 167), by Tertullian (216), by Mi- 
nutius Felix (235), by Origen (254), by Ar- 
nobius (290), by Lactantius (325), and by 
other Fathers in the first four centuries. 

The pagans accused the Christians of 
impiety, principally because they had nei- 
ther altars nor sacrifices. These Fathers 
show them, in their apologies or their an- 
swers, that " the only perfect sacrifices 
agreeable to God under the Gospel, are the 
prayers and the praises of the saints, and 
those of a broken heart and a contrite 
spirit ; that the altar of the Church is the 
hearts of .the faithful, having all but one 
voice in praising God ; and that the sacri- 
fice is the petitions and thanksgivings 
which arise like incense to the Lord ; be- 
cause their worship is entirely spiritual ; 
«ven," say they, '■'•when they commemorate 
the death of the Lord.''''* 

Where, with such testimony from the 
Fathers of the first ages, can we find a 
place for even the idea of the sacrifice of 
the mass ? What opposition would the 
whole Church of that time have shown to 
this doctrine ! 

2d. As to transubstantiation and taking 
away the cup from the people, we cannot 
suppose they had a thought of them. 

Justin Martyr calls the bread and the 
chalice the memorial of the flesh and blood 
of the Son of God.f 



* Just. Mart., Apol, 11., p. 58. Cont. Tryph., 
p. 238. 239, 240. Minut. Felix, in Octav. Orig., 
Cont. Cels., lib. viil. Tert., ApoL, c. 30 and 39. Clem. 
Alex., Strom., lib. vii. Arriob., Cont. gent., lib. vii., in 
init. Lact., Inst., lib. vii., c. 25, etc. Larrogue, 
Hist, of the Eucharist, part i., chap. viil. 

+ Cont. Tryph., p. 296. 



Irencpus, and the ancient liturgies, describe 
the manner in which the primitive Church 
celebrates the Supper ; and in the different 
prayers, we hear the Church call the ele- 
ments the figures {uvTiTVTva) o( the body and 
the blood of Christ ; an expression which 
Cyril of Jerusalem and Gregory Nazianzen 
also use.* 

Clement of Alexandria (220) says that the 
wine represents, allegorically, the Word 
who was shed for the remission of the sins 
of many.f 

fiertullian says. When Jesus Christ dis- 
tributed the bread to His disciples, He 
made it His body, that is to say, the figure 
of His body.X Then, says he also, the 
Lord tasted the wine which He consecra- 
ted in memory of His blood. ^ 

Macarius (350) speaks of the bread and 
wine which are the figures of the body and 
blood of Jesus Christ ; for it is spiritually, 
he says, that the flesh of the Lord is eat- 
en. || Ephrem, patriarch of Antioch (360), 
uses the same language. 

Basil (379) said, What we eat and drink 
is to remind us of Him who rose for us.^ 

Eusebius also spoke of the symbols and 
images of the body and blood of Christ.** 

" Come," said Ambrose, " and satiate 
thyself with this bread, which gives life. 
Come and drink at this inexhaustible 
source. Come and be enlightened, for 
Christ is the light. Come and believe, 
and thou shalt thirst no more. "ft 

" They are the types of my salvation," 
Gregory preached, " that I celebrate at this 
table, where is found the holy mystery 
which raises us to heaven. "|J 

" The Eucharist," says Gaudentius (410), 
" is a pledge of the presence of Christ, and 
a representation of His passion ; so that we 
might have an indelible remembrance of 
our redemption. "^^ 

" As a friend," says Jerome (420), " leaves 
a pledge to his friend in parting, so Jesus 
Christ left us His last commemoration in this 
sacrament."i|l| 

" But," says Theodoret (457), " after His 
second coming, we will no more need 
symbols of His body, as the body itself will 
appear. The Saviour made a change of 
names, in giving to His body the name of 
the symbol, and to the symbol that of His 
body ; and as He called Himself a vine, 
He also called the symbol His blood. For," 
says he again, in the ingenious dialogue of 



* Iren., Fragm. in append, ad Hipp, opera, ii., 64 
Clem, liturg., In Const. Apost., lib. vii., c. 25. Cyr. 
Hier., Cat. mystag., iv. Greg. Naz., Orat. 1. (R. C. ; 
A. H.). + P(sdag., lib. 11., c. 2. 

% Cont. Marc, lib. Iv., C, 40. 

6 Vini sapor em quod in sanguinis sui memoriam con- 
secravit. Tertul., De anima., Oper., p. 658. Adv. Marc, 
lib. 1., 372. II HorniL, 27. f De Bapt., c. 2. 

** Euseb., Dem. Ev., lib. viil., 2. 

tt Ambr., Offic, lib 1., 48. 

ii Greg., Orat., xvii. (D. R.). 

II Gaud., tr. 2. Bib. Patr., vol. ii. 

nil Hieron., in 1 Cor., xi. 



THE MASS. 



Eranistes and Orthodoxus, " after their con- 
secration the mystical symbols do not 
change their nature ; they retain their same 
primitive substance, in the same manner 
that they retain their visible form."* 

It is under the same thought that ^w^?^^- 
tine (430) remarks that, one does not make 
the commemoration of him that is present. 
And elsewhere, " The Lord had made no 
difficulty in saying, ' This is my body,' 
when He gave the sign of His body in that 
repast vv^here He intrusted and gave to His 
disciples Xhe figure of His body and His 
blood. And it is thus that the sacrament 
of His blood is His blood ; for sacraments 
usually take the name of the things which 
they represent."! 

The two Gelasius, both the pope of 
that name (490), and Cyziquus his con- 
temporary, both declare that the image and 
figure of the blood of Christ are celebrated 
in the mysteries, and that the substance or 
nature of the bread and wine do not cease 
to exist.J 

Facundus, bishop of Hermianus (553), ex- 
presses the same sentiments ; we call them, 
lie says, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, 
not that the bread is indeed His body, nor that 
the wine is indeed his blood, but because 
they contain the mystery, etc.§ 

The bread and wine, say Isiodorus of 
Seville (636) and the venerable Bede (735), 
relate mystically to the body and blood of 
Jesus Christ ;|| and Amalarius ofMetz (820) 
and Valafrid-Strabo (860) taught that the 
bread and wine have a certain resemblance 
to the body and blood of the Saviour, who 
committed to His disciples, in the sub- 
stance of bread and wine, the image of 
heavenly things.^ 

Finally, the Catholic, that is to say, uni- 
versal Church, which assembled in the 
year 754 in a council of 338 bishops, at 
Constantinople, expressed itself in these 
terms : " Jesus Christ, having taken the 
bread and the wine, said. This is my body, 
and this is my blood ; do this in remem- 
brance of me; as there was no other em- 
blem under heaven which was chosen by 
Him, nor any other figure which might 
represent his incarnation. This, then, is the 
image of His vivifying body, made in an 
honorable and glorious manner."** 

I added to these testimonies the senti- 
ments of several doctors from the very 
bosom of the Church of Rome. I quoted 
the Emperor Charlemagne (770), who wrote 



* Theod., in 1 Cor., xi. Dialog., 1. et ii. 

t Serm., in Ps. xxxvii. Cont. Adim., c. 12. 

t Gelas. in hist. sacr. Dp duab. Nat. See Dispute 
•on Mass, p. 450. § Facundus, lib. ix., p. 404. 

il Isid. Hisp., Orig., lib. vi., c. 19. Beda, Comm. 
in Marc, lib. xiv. 

Ii Amalas., De Eccl. off. In Praef. Valafr. Strabo, 
De Reb. Eccl, c. xvi. (D. R.). 

** Cone. Const., in Act. Cone. Niccm., c. 2, act. 6. 
See Hisf. abr. of Sent, of Doct. of Church of first Ages 
(T. C), bk. xv:; 35. 



that " Jesus Christ, when he supped with 
His disciples, brake the bread and gave 
them likewise the cvi^, in figure of His body 
and of His blood.'''* I also quoted Raban 
Maure, bishop of Mayence (820), who said, 
among other things, " Some having imag- 
ined that in the sacrament of the body and 
blood of the Lord are also found the same 
body and blood which were taken from 
the Virgin Mary, I have written against that 
error, and have shown what should be be- 
lieved on this subject. For though the 
sacrament is received by the mouth, it is 
by its efficacy that the interior man is re- 
newed. "f 

I recalled, m'oreover, the sentiments of 
Ratram, priest of the monastery of Corbia 
(860), who composed a very remarkable 
treatise on the body and blood of the Lord, in 
which he proves that the mystery of the 
Eucharist is a figure, and not the very body 
nor the blood of Jesus Christ. I also men- 
tioned Amalaric, a doctor of great renown 
(1207), who taught that the very body of 
Jesus Christ was no more in the bread of 
the altar than in any other bread. I add- 
ed St. Bernard, who had already said",, une- 
quivocally, " Several things are only signs, 
bearing the name of the things which they 
represent. A ring, for instance, given in 
sign of an heritage, becomes its pledge 
and representation. In the same way, the 
Lord wished His disciples to possess a vis- 
ible title of His invisible grace ; for it is to 
this end that the sacraments are instituted, 
and it is in this sense that the Eucharist 
should be received. The flesh of Christ is 
mystically the food of the soul, but it is not 
of the body ; also it is not materially eat- 
en, for such as is the food, such also should 
be the manner in which it is eaten. "J 

Besides that, I brought forward the three 
cardinals, Cajetan, the Bishop of Roches- 
ter, and Cameracensis ; several doctors, 
Scotus, Biel, Melchior Canus, Vasquez, and 
even the Cardinal Du Perron, all of whom 
declared that transubstantiation could not 
be supported from the Scriptures, to which 
that dogma is opposed, nor by the canons 
of the Church, but merely from tradition.^ 
Finally, I adduced again the Cardinal d'Ail- 
ly (142.5), who, in the Council of Constance, 
spoke of transubstantiation as " a doctrine 
which cannot be clearly drawn from the 
Scriptures ;" and also the Cordeher Ock- 
ham (1325), who thought that the opinion 
which leaves the substance to the bread of 
the Eucharist would be the most reasonable, 
had not the Church decreed the contrary. 

I closed with the remark that the dpgma 



* Ad. Ale, Epist. in Sept. 

f Raban. Maur., Pcmitenial (Ingolstadt, 1616), De 
Inst. Cler., lib. 1., c. 31. 

J: Bernard, Sermo. de Purif. B. MaricB (D. R.). 

^ Caj. in 3 Thorn., q. 75, a. 1. Roch., Cont. Captiv. 
Babyl, c. 10. Camer. in 4 Sent., q. 6, litt./. Mel. 
Can., Loc. Comm., lib. iii., c. 3. Vasq., torn, iii., mS 
dist., 180, c. 5. Traite de VEuchar., p. 793. 



66 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



of transubstantiation is, as Erasmus says, 
of quite recent date,* and that, although it 
was brought forward in the Council of 
Nice,t and the monk Paschasus Radhert had 
(in 851) expressed the positive opinion that 
" what is received in the Lord's Supper is 
the same flesh which was born of the Vir- 
gin Mary," it was not till 1215, in a coun- 
cil of the Lateran (which is rejected by the 
Galilean Church), that Pope Innocent III. 
gave a formal name to this dogma, and im- 
posed it on the Church of Rome,J who, so 
far from implicitly adopting it, had, in the 
time of Bellarmine, two popes, four cardi- 
nals, two archbishops, five bishops, and 
nineteen doctors opposed to it.^ 

I have never known, reader, what the se- 
cret reflections of the priest were with 
whom I had conversed ; but my own, after 
this interview, were those of thanksgiving 
and praise to the Lord Jesus for having 
given me, in his mercy. His Supper as he 
himself instituted it, and gives me daily 
an increasing testimony both of its apostol- 
ical truth and its august holiness. Reader, 
will you then deem me censurable if I am 
more than ever unwilling to exchange my 
belief for the tenets of the Church of 
Rome 1 



CHAPTER Xm. 

BAPTISM, AND THE FIVE ORDINANCES WHICH 
THE CHURCH OF ROME CALLS SACRAMENTS. || 

I MIGHT here explain, reader, in detail 
the doctrines and practices which the 
Church of Rome has instituted on this sub- 
ject ; but, for the sake of brevity, I shall 
confine myself to a very few remarks. As 
it was the Lord Jesus, the only Head and 
Sovereign of the Church, who chose and 
appointed the apostles, so it was he also 
who, by His own mouth and authority, in- 
stituted baptism and the Supper, and, as 
their master, gave them the commission to 
baptize all nations, teaching them " to ob- 
serve all things whatsoever he had com- 
manded them."^ 

The Saviour himself also, who instituted 
the sacraments, appointed them with the 
special character of visible signs or memo- 
rials of the promises and grace whose ful- 
fillment is in Him. He therefore did not 
commit the institution of them to His apos- 
tles, but appointed them himself, and con- 
firmed them by his own example, being 
baptized by John, and administering the 
vSupper with his own almighty hands. It 
is therefore in his own words, that is, in the 
Holy Scriptures, that we are to seek for 



Sero Trartsubstantiationem definivit Ecclesia. — 
Erasm., Annot. in 1 Cor., vii. 

t Cone. Nicen., Act.\i. 

t Bassn., Hist, de I'Egl, lib. xxvii., ^ 6. 

i) Bellarm., De Sacr. Each., lib. iii., c. 23. 

II To wit, confirmation, penance, extreme unction, 
ordination, and marriage. ^ Matth., xxviii., 20. 



the institution of these mysteries, or sac- 
raments, of the Church of God. 

" Yes," the Church of Rome replies, " bub 
it must be in the entire Scriptures, that is, 
in TRADITION also."* 

"No," I answer, "because Augustine 
speaks here only of the ' canonical books ;' 
and Andrew of Cologne, in the Council of 
Florence, enjoins that the Holy Scriptures 
only be consulted on this subject; and Je- 
rome, too, directs us to consult the Word of 
God alone ; and especially, because the 
Word of God is perfect.f What, then, does 
the Scripture teach on this subject ? It 
designates the sacraments, and shows me 
clearly that their efficacy is in the grace 
of God toward the believer, through the 
Holy Spirit." 

" Not at all," says the Church of Rome ; 
" for if the very words in which they were 
instituted are not repeated, or if the priest 
who administers them had not the intention 
of doing so, they have no efficacy."J 

" The very words," do you say 1 " The 
apostles, then, were in error when they 
mentioned in baptism the name of Jesus 
Christ only,^ and when they give three or 
four forms of the institution of tj\e Lord's 
Supper. II The fathers, also, and with them 
your own doctors, have erred, when they 
remarked that ' the terms are of little con- 
sequence, when the import is certain ;' that 
' the words of truth are those which are 
believed rather than those which are pro- 
nounced ;' that ' the efficacy of the Word 
is in the good conscience of him who hears 
it ;' that ' the sound of the voice that pass- 
es avi^ay is one thing, and the influence that 
remains is another ;' that he who makes 
a mistake in language in uttering the truth, 
yet speaks the truth, which depends not 
either on accent or grammar.*l[ 

" And as to the intention of him who offici- 
ates, by what principle is it placed above 
that of the Lord who, gives the efficacy \ 
When the ass of Balaam rebuked that ava- 
ricious prophet by the command of God, 
was it because it had the intention, that the 
reproof was administered'? When the 
Spirit of God was on Saul, and he prophe- 
sied like a believer, was it because he had 
the intention of thus glorifying the Lord % 
When the impious Caiaphas pronounced 
the sentence of death on Jesus, and proph- 
esied the Church's ransom, was it because 
he had the intention of announcing salva- 
tion to the Church 1 Is it not in God that 
the efficacy of the gifts of God is to be 



* Bellarm., De Sacram., lib. i., c. 14 et 23 (W.). 

t Aug., Epist., 118. Cone. Flor., sess.v'ii. Hier., 
Er^o ut ad institutionis plenitudinem, etc. (W.). 

t Bellarm., De Sacra., lib. i., c. 19, 21, et 27. 
Rhemist., Annot. in 1 Cor., xi. Cone. Trid., sess. 
vii., c. 11. 

^ Acts, ii., 38. Rom., vi., 3. Gal., iii., 27. 

II Matt., xxvi., 27, 28. Luke, xxii., 19, 20. 1 Cor., 
xi., 24. 25. 

^ Willet, Controv. of Bapt.., passim. 



BAPTISM. 



67 



found! Does the Creator await the will 
of that which is not, to create it ] and does 
he not bless or sanctify the sinner in con- 
nection with his own consent and co-oper- 
ation 1 God is sovereign in dispensing His 
favors. ' None gives unto Him first, that 
God should return him any thing ;^ and if 
you, Church of Rome, reject this testimony 
of God, you ought to know that some of 
your fathers and doctors have admitted it. 
* The sacrament of baptism,' says Augus- 
tine, ' is so holy in itself, that it could not 
be corrupted, though a drunkard or a mur- 
derer should administer it.'* ' The grace 
of the sacraments,' said the Council of 
Cologne, ' is neither in the virtue of out- 
ward things nor in the dignity of the min- 
istry, but only in the efficacy of the divine 
operation.'! ' If even the priest,' said 
a pope, *has not the intention of doing 
what the Church prescribes, the sacrament 
is nevertheless valid.' Peter Lombard, 
Thomas Aquinas, and that Archbishop 
Catharen, whom the Council of Trent 
listened to more than once, declared, in 
three diff"erent centuries, that the sacra- 
ment does not require the mental intentian 
of the minister.^ 

" I therefore repeat, that every sacrament 
proceeding from God is established by His 
Word, and has no power except in His 
grace. When, therefore, the Church of 
Rome holds out to me, on* condition of my 
uniting with her, the gift of seven sacraments 
instead of the two which I have heretofore 
received, I ask her, Did the Lord Jesus in- 
stitute your five additional sacraments in 
as formal and explicit a manner as he did 
baptism and the Supper, and formerly cir- 
cumcision and Ihe Passover 1 

" No," replies the Church of Rome. 

" Perhaps, then, he participated in those 
five ordinances of which you speak, and 
thus sanctioned them." 

" Not at all," that church replies again. 

" Perhaps they were so clearly revealed 
to the apostles that they afterward enjoin- 
ed them on the Church as a positive com- 
mand from the Lord." 

" We cannot say so," add the doctors 
of that church ; " and yet, notwithstanding, 
the Church has always decreed that if any 
one affirms that confirmation, penance, ex- 
treme unction, ordination, and marriage are 
not true sacraments, he shall be anathema, 
for these ordinances are divine, and thus 
the Church interprets the Scripture."^ 

^ 1. BAPTISM. 

" Ahvays decreed," you continually as- 
sert. " But that may be ascertained from 

* Aug., Tract. 5 in Johan. f Willet, p. 459. 

t Mag. Cent., lib. iv., Bist. 13. Aquin., Dist. iv., 
QuaBSt. 6. Cafhar., Opusc. de intent, min. (Id..). 

ij Bellarm., De Sacr. Confirmat. Idem, De Pcenit., 
De Extr. Unct., De Sacram. Ordin. Cone. Trid., sess. 
•vii,, 1 ; xxiv., c. 1. Bellarm., De Matrim. Sacram. 



the fathers and doctors. At present be so 
good as to inform me what you consider 
to be the efficacy and necessity of baptism." 

"Baptism of water takes away original 
sin," replies the Church of Rome, "and 
there is no salvation without it. The in- 
fant, though yet unborn, Avho dies unbap- 
tized, is forever debarred the presence of 
God."* 

Who told you so? I answer. Where 
in the Scripture do you find it ? On the 
contrary, does it not teach that it is not the 
baptism of water, but that of the Spirit, 
which takes away the sin of the souHf 
And does it not also say that the promise 
of God is unto the children of believers as 
well as to themselves.l Why, then, teach 
that the child who dies without having 
sinned voluntarily as did Adam, (J but be- 
cause of the depravity of his body, is also 
and necessarily lost as to his soul T Can 
he not be one of the elect of God, and can- 
not the eye and even the Spirit of the Lord 
have been on him as it was on Jere- 
miah and on John the Baptist. " from the 
wombr'll 

That, at least, is the decision of one of 
your popes, who exclaims, " God forbid that 
all infants who die in such numbers should 
be lost forever ; that God had not prepared 
for them the means of salvation."^ 

This is the opinion also of Bernard, of 
Biel, and of Cajetan, who tell you that 
" the want of baptism, if it has not beea 
disregarded, causes no hinderance to salva- 
tion." The first of these doctors adds, 
" See how the Saviour, when he pronoun- 
ces the words, ' He that believeth and is 
baptized, shall be saved,' with precaution 
omits the word baptized in the subsequent 
clause, saying only, ' He that believeth not, 
shall be damned.' "** 

Again, another pope writes to you, '* It 
is a good thing to purify the body with the 
water of baptism ; I sdij good, but not essen- 
tial, for the essential thing is the purifica- 
tion of the soul."tt And, finally, Augustine 
represents to us that " the grace of the Al- 
mighty supplies what the weakness of age 
could neither comprehend nor confess. '^t 
Are not these opinions both charitable and 
prudent ; and, at least, is it not wise to ob- 
serve on this subject the silence which the 
Scriptures observe 1 

And as to the form of this sacrament, I 
ask you further. Why do you reject an in- 
stitution so simple and easy; that pure 
water, the symbol of the Word and Spirit 



* Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., c. 2. De Bo]^., 
Cone. Trid., sess. vii., c. 6, 7. Bellarm., De JBcmi,^ 
lib. i., c. 4. ^ 

t 1 Pet., iii., 21. Tit., ii., 5. 

t Acts, ii., 39. 1 Cor., vii., 14. 

() Rom., v., 14. II Jer., i., 5. Luk«,.i, 15. 

if Innoc. III., Deer. Greg., tit. xlii., c. 3. 

** Bern., Epist. 77 (W.-, 487). 

ft Clement, Epist. 4. 

ii August., Decret, p. iii., dist. iv., c. 34. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



of God, and the simple but august invoca- 
tion of the name of the Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit, and substitute for it your own 
ceremonies? What sig-nifies, in God's 
view, that oil which you mix with the water 
of baptism, that exorcism which you pro- 
nounce over the child, that salt which you 
place in his mouth, that sign of the cross 
which you make over him, that saliva with 
which you anoint him, that renouncement 
of the world, that confession of faith, and 
that request to be baptized, which you require 
of him, that perfume which you place on 
his head, that white robe with which you 
clothe him, that lighted candle which you 
put in his hand, and all your other append- 
ages "?* If you call this a ceremony of 
your own will, I ask again. What is its ef- 
ficacy, and why, under the Gospel, do you 
resort to types and shadows instead of the 
substance which is in Jesus ? 

But it is from God, you say, that these 
things are derived, and you would impose 
them on His Church as a sacred obliga- 
tion ! Who, then, I ask you, hath required 
this at your hand, and when did the Lord 
give you this command T My Bible does 
not mention it, neither at the baptism of 
the Saviour, in whom all the types are 
fulfilled, nor at the numerous baptisms of 
the people, of one or two disciples, or of 
whole households. I find merely water 
used, and either the voice of the Father 
speaking, or else the. simple invocation of 
the name of the Trinity. Neither John the 
Baptist on the banks of the Jordan, nor 
Philip on the road to Gaza, nor Ananias 
at Damascus, nor Peter at Caesarea, when 
they baptized either the Lord himself, or 
the multitudes, or the eunuch of Ethiopia, 
or Saul of Tarsus, or Cornelius and his 
household, ask either for oil, or salt, or a 
new dress, or candles. But it is thus, Church 
of Rome, as Augustine remarks, that " you 
load with ceremonies and inventions heav- 
ier than the rites of the Jewish Law, that 
religion of grace which God has made free, 
annexing to it the fewest sacraments pos- 
sible ;"t and thus, too, in self-contradic- 
tion, by plunging or asperging the child 
three times, you perform what a council 
called a schismatical custom,J and by using 
your saliva in baptism, you do what one 
of your popes declared annuls that sacra- 
ment.^ 

When the divine law and the testimony 
are discarded, and the inventions of men 
are substituted, where are the limits or the 
obstacles to excess "^ Ah! what at first 
was designed to adorn or embellish, is 
soon preferred, and that which God has 
enjoined is despised, and the pure and 



* Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., c. 60, De Bapt. 
Bellarm., De Bapt., lib. i., c. 25, etc. 
t August., Epist. 119,- cap. 1. 
X Cone. Tolet., iv., c. 5. 
ij Innoc. HI. Gxeg.,Decret., lib. iii., tit. 42, c. 5 (W.). 



holy sacrament of Jesus is taken from the 
child, and it is covered with empty cere- 
monies, which are performed with equal 
show and detail upon the very bells of 
churches. 

Yes, reader, on the bells! for Rome 
has wandered even as far as that. The 
Saviour said to his apostles, " Go, teach 
all nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost." Rome addresses herself to 
a bell, in the presence of a godfather select- 
ed for it, and after speaking to it, exhort- 
ing it, and blessing it, she baptizes it ; pours 
upon this new Nehushtan^ this new idol, 
the sacramental water of the Gospel, and 
invokes on this piece of brass, as on an 
immortal soul, the sacred name of the 
Most High ! Thenceforth the bell is holy ! 
Thenceforth the sounds which proceed 
from it will touch the hearts of the faith- 
ful, and produce in them heavenly feelings, 
and, at the same time, conjure and put to 
flight demons, plagues, storms, and other 
calamities ! 

Church of Rome ! you have gone far in 
this work of invention, but to little profit. 
You have cast God's law behind your back, 
and have said to the wind of vanity, " Come, 
and bind me up in thy wings. "f In all this 
I must stand aloof from you, for the Word 
of God forbids me to participate in such 
doings, as also to admit those five ordi- 
nances which you have set forth. 

^ 2. CONFIRMATION.^ 

What resemblance, I ask, is there be- 
tween the imposition of our Saviour's 
hands on little chfldren,"^ or the gifts and 
favors which the Holy Spirit conferred 
on the believers of Samaria, for instance, 
after the prayers and the laying on of the 
apostles' hands, and the unction of per- 
fumed oil, the sign of the cross, and the 
bloio of the hand, which a Romish bishop 
uses when he confirms a child ten or 
eleven years old,|| by which, says the 
Church of Rome, the child is " constituted 
a perfect Christian, and receives the full- 
ness of the gifts of the Holy Ghost V'% 
Where in this is the nature of a sacra- 
ment? When did the Lord Jesus either 
do this or direct it to be done 1 When, 
especially, did the Holy Spirit prescribe 
such things under the Gospel, or when 
was the grace of God materially contained 
in certain balms and signs'? Charms and 
talismans are the implements of sorcery; 
and must the spouse of Jesus also be clad 
in the garb with which soothsayers and 
conjurers clothe their infamous idols ? 

" No," says Augustine, " the spiritual 



* 2 Kings, xviii., 4. f Neh., ix., 26. Hos., iv., 19. 
X Catech. Cone. Trid., parsii., c. 3. ij Marli, X., 16. 
II Abregi du Catech., etc., lesson 31. 
if Abr^ge du Catech., etc., p. 59. I will come back 
to this subject, as well as to Auricular Confession. 



PENANCE.-EXTREME UNCTION. 



69 



unction and its sacrament are invisible as 
to its efficacy."* "No," adds a council, 
" the confirmation of the faithful by the 
Holy Spirit is not performed by means of 
an outward unction. "f " No," confessed 
the candid John Huss, " it was not God, 
but his adversary who devised this pue- 
rile confirmation, which is celebrated with 
so much pomp." And, Church of Rome ! 
John Huss»was right. I see no resem- 
blance between the unction of the Holy 
One and your observances. 

^ 3. PENANCE. 

Again, I can perceive no resemblance 
between the gratuitous and full pardon 
which the Lord Jesus gives to the peni- 
tent sinner, or the remission of sins which 
he commissioned His apostles to preach 
and confirm in his name, and that sacra- 
ment of penance, which you say " remits 
the sins committed after baptism." And 
where, in particular, I ask, is the authority 
for that confession which must be made in 
the ear of the priest ^X 

^ 4. EXTREME UNCTION. 

" I see no connection between the anoint- 
ing oil of which the Scripture speaks^ 
(which was either a remedy for the body, 
or a symbol of a miraculous gift and the 
unction of the Holy Ghost, and was con- 
nected entirely with the cure of the sick) 
and extreme unction, which, if it has any 
relation to the health of the body, has 
chiefly for its object the purifying of the 
sick person from his sins, and his fortifica- 
tion in the hour of death against the as- 
saults of the devil. "[| 

" How I pity you," said a Romish priest 
on hearing me speak thus, " how I lament 
those unjust prejudices which render you 
averse to one of the holiest and most com- 
forting operations which the Holy Spirit 
performs in His Church ! Come with me 
to the chamber of a dying believer whither 
T am going, that, by the unction of the con- 
secrated oil, his sins may be forgiven, and 
his soul may peaceably enter into a blessed 
eternity. You know the Holy Scripture 
commands me to do this both by the mouth 
of Jesus Christ and by that pillar of the 
Church, the apostle St. James." 

I made no reply, and we praceeded to 
the sick man's house. The priest entered, 
heard his confession, gave him his absolu- 
tion, and administered the sacrament (viati- 
cum) to him, then, before all present said, 
" Let us praise and bless God, who, having 
given us baptism to open to us the way of 
life, gave us also the sacrament of this holy 



* Tract in Epist. Joh., iv. Concil. Met., xviii. (W.). 

t Concil. Const., sess. xv. 

t Abrigi du Catech., etc., p. 59. This subject will 
be examined farther on. 

() Jas., v., 14, 15. Mark, vi., 13. 

II Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., C 6. De Extr. Unct. 
Sacram. Abregi du Catech., etc., p. 70. 



unction, that, when departing from this 
earthly state, we might have an easier en- 
trance into heaven!"* "Receive, then, 
dear child of the Church, the favor which 
your tender mother gives you, and may 
this oil, which she has blessed, purify you, 
by virtue of the Holy Spirit, in your body, 
and, above all, in your soul!" The priest 
then made thrice the sign of the cross over 
the sick man, in the name of the Trinity ; 
imposed on him his hands, invoked the 
mother of God, the angels, patriarchs, proph- 
ets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, and virgins, 
that they would destroy in the members 
of the dying man, in his marrow and joints, 
all the power of the devil and of impure 
spirits. Then the priest dipped his thumb 
in the holy oil, and anointed, in the form of 
a cross, the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the 
mouth, the hands, the feet, and the loins of 
the sick man, saying " May God, by this 
holy unction, pardon all the sins which thou 
hast committed with thine eyes, thy nose, 
and the rest of thy body !"f This being 
done, he spread the holy oil on him with 
cotton, \yhich he afterward burned, the 
ashes of which were deposited in some 
sacred place ; then washing his hands, he 
poured out the vv^ater in some clean, re tiled 
•place. I He then gave the blessing of the 
Church to the dying man, and left him. 

The Priest. " Well, tell me, candidly, 
were you not affected and edified by this 
pious and solemn ceremony V 

The Candidate. " Before I answer, be 
so good as to inform me by whom that 
unction which you have just administered 
should be performed ]" 

The Priest. " As the priest represents 
the Church and the Church represents 
God, and, consequently, the priest also is 
God's representative, it is the priest alone 
who can administer the holy unction. "<^ 

The Candidate. " But does not this con- 
tact with a dying person expose your 
health, and, in cases of contagious disease, 
your life also V 

The Priest. " The Church has provided 
for that ; for then the holy oil is placed at 
the extremity of a long stick, and when 
the unction is performed, the stick, having 
become sacred, is immediately burned, and 
its ashes deposited in a holy place. "|| 

The Candidate. " Will you inform me 
further what oil that is which you use, and 
why you use it !" 

The Priest {gravely). " The holy Church 
does not use every kind of grease ; she 
allows only the pure oil of the olive, and 
that, too, which the benediction of a bishop 



* Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., c. 6, ^ 2. 

t Ibid., ij 11. 

± Rituale Rora., 96, 97. Ulderic, iii., 26. Dach- 
ery, i., 70. Dens, vii., 6. (V. P.). 

^ Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., c. 6, ^ 26, 27, nota. 

II Ardeck., Theol., iii., 378. Dens, Theol, viii., 79, 
166. 



70 



THE CHURCH OF ROxME EXAMINED. 



has consecrated by the Holy Spirit. And 
you can at once see why. Oil soothes 
the pains of tlie body, and renews its 
strength and suppleness. As oil nourishes 
the Jiame of the lamp, so this sacrament 
raises the soul, expels its sadness, appeases 
its woes, and inspires its hope.* What 
precious favors it bestows on the believer! 
1st. It remits his sins ; I mean his venial 
sins, as the others can be remitted only by 
baptism and penance. 2d. It delivers the 
soul from the anguish and terror which the 
recollection and sight of his sins usually 
causes in the moment of death. 3d. It 
fills the heart of the believer with a heav- 
enly joy, and fits him to die happy. 4th. 
It strengthens him against the last assaults 
of the devil and demons, whom he treads 
under his feet. And, 5th. It sometimes 
probably effects the cure of the sick."ji 

The Candidate. " But did you not tell 
me that this is the unction of which the 
Scriptures speak f 

The Priest. " It is what the holy Coun- 
cil of Trent decreed, which declared re- 
specting it, that Jesus Christ first sug- 
gested in a manner this sacrament when 
he sent his disciples to heal the sick by 
' anointing them with oil ;'J and St. James 
afterward confirmed it when he repeated 
the same direction ;^ and also that, since 
the time of the apostles, this doctrine has 
been, without interruption, that of the 
Catholic Church. "II 

The Candidate. " That surprises me ex- 
ceedingly, I assure you, for, if I am cor- 
rectly informed, this extreme unction, as you 
call it, so far from having been practiced 
by the Apostolic Church, is comparatively 
of recent origin." 

The Priest. " You say so, probably, be- 
cause the early fathers do not mention it. 
But the learned Cardinal Bellarmine has 
stated that this was ' because they had no 
occasion for speaking of it.' " 

The Candidate. '"They had no occa- 
sion,' do you say"? Do you really think 
that the Fathers of the first four centuries 
never made even the most remote allusion 
to this practice, because during that period 
they had no occasion"? When Clement, 
Hermas, Barnabas, Ignatius, and Polycarp, 
who, in their letters, dehght to enter into 
the details of Christian life, make no allusion 
to a ^acramen^ which, if it existed, must have 
been administered daily with their own 
hands, you say it is because they had no 
occasion for doing so % Do you think, also, 
that their successors, Justin, Irenaeus, Ter- 
tullian, Cyprian, Athanasius, Tatian, Epi- 
phanius, and the writers of the Apostolical 
Constitutions, had no occasion to mention 



* Catech. Cone. Txidi., pars ii., c. 6, ij 9, 10. 
t Ibid., (J 28. X Mark, vi., 13. 

^ James, v., 14. 

II Cone. Trid., sess. xiv. Cateeh. Cone. Trid. 
fars ii., c. 4, ^ 5, et seq. 



even once (as they do not) one of the most 
obligatory duties of the Church 1* Had the 
devout and minute narrators of the death 
of Constantine, Helen, Basil, Chrysostom, 
Augustine, and Monica his mother^ no oc- 
casion to speak of the unction with holy oil, 
which you say was certainly performed on 
those celebrated saints^ Do you really, 
sir, suppose this to be possible ?" 

The Priest. " I confess that tl^ uniform 
silence surprises me a little ; but it mat- 
ters not, since the sacrament is proved to 
exist later, and was practiced in the Church 
by the holy father. Innocent I., as the Coun- 
cil of Trent affirms, and several other coun- 
cils testify."! 

The Candidate. " I know that in the fifth 
century, the Bishop Decentius, having con- 
sulted Pope Innocent respecting the unc- 
tion of oil of which St. James speaks, that 
pope answered him that ' the sick might 
be anointed' — but mark, if you please, what 
follows, for it is what the Council of Trent 
anathematizes — ' and it might be done not 
only by a priest, but also by all Christians, 
who might anoint with this kind of sac- 
rament both their own bodies and those of 
their kindred. '| You see, then, sir, that 
even in the ^th century, a pope and a 
bishop did not know much about this unc- 
tion with oil, as the bishop asks what it is, 
and the pope answers that it is a kind of 
sacrament {genus est sacramenti), and that 
every believer can administer it. How 
different is the lesson taught by these facts 
from the doctrine of the holy and infallible 
Council of Trent, which afl^rmed that its 
doctrine on this subject had ' always been 
that of the whole Church ;' adding, ' If any 
one says that the sacraments of the new 
law were not instituted by Jesus Christ, 
or that there are more or less than seven, let 
him be anathema V^ thus excommunicating 
both a pope and a bishop, and many oth- 
ers of ' the faithful.' For the Venerable 
Bede in the eighth century, the Council of 
Chalons in the ninth, and afterward that 
of Worms, united in saying, ' that this 
kind of remedy, which cures the body as 
well as the soul, must not be despised, and 
should be administered as Pope Innocent 
decreed.'lj Thus the Church reached the 
latter half of the ni)ith century still igno- 
rant of this sacrament of unction, and the 
mode of administering it, and yet the 
Council of Trent tells us that ' she always 



* Variations of Popery, p. 414, et seq. Aquin., iii., 
29 ; i., 462. 

t Sess. xiv. Innocent I., Epist., i., ad Decent., c. 
8. Coneil Cabillon, c. 48, et Wormac, c. 72. Cone. 
Const, et Florent. in Cateeh. Cone. Trid., pars ii., c. 
6, (^ ^. 

X Carranza, Summ. Cone. etPap., 187. Labbe, iii., 
6. Jonas, De Institut, iii., 14. Bruys, i., 175 (V. P.). 

i) Cone. Trid., sess., vii., c. i. 

II Beda, v., 693. Nan est parvi facienda hujus modi 
medicina. Binius, Coneil, vi.,222. Crabbe, Coneil., 
ii., 625. Labbe, ix., 370 (V. P.). 



EXTREME UNCTION. 



71 



knew and practiced it, having received tt 
from the apostles themselves /' 

" Passing on to the middle of the eleventh 
century, we find no such sacrament then, 
for the Greek Church, which then (1054) 
separated from the Latin Church, is unac- 
quainted with it, and denounces it, togeth- 
er with the other errors of the Church of 
Rome. And if we cast our eyes still far- 
ther, beyond the narrow limits of the Lat- 
in Church, to the continents of Asia and 
Africa, we find the extensive churches of 
those vast regions, the Nestorians, the 
Greek Jacobites or Armenians, who peo- 
ple the countries of Turkey in Asia, Ara- 
bia, Persia, Tartary, and various provinces 
of India, all uniformly rejecting as a fable 
this unction; which, with all the other pe- 
culiar dogmas of the Latin Church, was 
entirely miknown also to the numerous 
churches of Syria at the close of the fif- 
teenth century, when Vasco de Gama trav- 
eled in that country. You see, then, sir, 
that it is not merely a few small transient 
sects, who, on this and many other points 
of belief and practice, are opposed to your 
Church, but they are nations, and church- 
es far more numerous collectively than 
that of Rome, and of acknowledged apos- 
tolical antiquity. It is a Christian colos- 
sus, sir, which, having adhered to the Bible, 
has never admitted this unction, which the 
Bible discards. 

" Where, then, can the origin of this prac- 
tice be found ? After the deep darkness, 
the gross superstitions and impurity of the 
eleventh century, we first hear Bernard and 
Peter Lombard, and a century afterward, 
Thomas Aquinas, speaking of ' extreme 
unction' in the terms now used; and in 
1439, Pope Eugenius IV. and the Council 
of Florence decided that 'it is a sacra- 
ment, and the Church has always pos- 
sessed it !' More than fourteen hundred 
years, it seems, were requisite for the 
Church of Rome to discover this 'apos- 
tolical institution !' Till then it was un- 
known to her! Are you not surprised, 
sir ; and do you not grieve for those myr- 
iads of believers who have passed from 
this world into eternity, without having 
been purified in their bodies by the holy 
oil, and without having known, on the bed 
of death, the power, the joy, the sublime 
consolation and delight, which you say 
this unction now yields to all the faithful V 

The Priest. " All in the Church is mys- 
tery, and I must respect all her acts, as 
she is the 'pillar of the truth.' I also 
wonder, in my turn, that a sacrament which 
affords to the souls of the faithful such 
great benefits, should make so little im- 
pression on yours. Are those celestial 
graces which the believer thence derives 
in the very moment when he crosses the 
fearful threshold of the world to come, of 
so little importance V 



The Candidate. "But, sir, can you not 
see that, on the one hand, the history of 
the Church denies the antiquity of this 
practice, and, on the other, the Word of 
God is opposed to its very nature V 

The Prie.<f^. "How? Was it not, as I 
said, Jesus Christ himself who established 
it, and does not St. James command it in 
the most formal terms V 

The Candidate. "Excuse me, sir, if I 
remind you of what you just now said to 
me, that this unction is entirely spiritual, 
that it is chiefly to the soul of the believer 
that it imparts its virtues, that as to the 
body, it is only in special circumstances 
that it is benefited by it." 

The Priest. " Certainly ; it is word for 
word what the Councils of Florence and 
Trent say." 

The Candidate. " And it is precisely the 
opposite of what the Holy Scriptures af- 
firm ; for when the disciples whom the 
Lord sent, anointed the sick with oil, it 
was to cure the hodily illness of those 
whose souls had been delivered by the 
Word of God.* Does St. James, more- 
over, when he mentions a certain unction, 
mea.n by it what your church teaches I 
He speaks of oil, I know, but where does he 
say that, if the bishop has not blessed it, this 
unction has no efllcacy^f Where does he 
specify the unction of the nose, eyes, ears, 
or feet as necessary, and say that it must 
be done in the form of a cross, and that it 
should be spread on with cotton, which 
must be burned, the ashes of which be- 
come sacred ? Especially, where does he 
say that this unction must be extreme ; that 
it should not be administered except at the 
season of death, when it is evident that 
the sick person cannot be cured TJ On 
the contrary, does he not expressly say 
that it is for the cure of the believer that 
this miraculous unction is to be performed ; 
that the sick should be raised up, and that 
the woes which his sins had brought upon 
him, apparently, should terminate with the 
moral disorder which caused it ]" 

The Priest. " You acknowledge, then, that 
the declaration of St. James refers to sins, 
which this unction takes away V 

The Candidate. " Ah, sir, neither oil nor 
ceremonies can take away sin ; the blood 
of Jesus alone has that power, when re- 
ceived by faith into the heart. If 'the 
prayer of faith' off'ered up by the elders 
was to obtain from God the efficacy of 
that blood through the Holy Spirit, and the 
forgiveness of the sins of the sick man, 
surely it could not be the anointing with 



* Mark, vi., 13. 

t Faber, ii., 254. Bin., viii., 866. Crabbe, iii., 506. 
Estius, Comment., ii., 1 142. Rituale Rom., 96 (V. P.). 

X Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., c. 6, ^ 17, 18. 
Labbe, xviii., 550. Aquin., v., 146. Kit. Rom., 91. 
Labbe, xx., 98. Erasm., Oper., torn, vi., 174 (Lyons, 
1703), Id. 



72 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



oil that effected it, nor was it sorcery. 
But if this is not sufficient, listen to the 
testimony of your own doctors. 

CONTRARY TESTIMONY. 

"'The passage in St. James,' says the 
Cardinal Cajetan, ' does not apply, either 
in its terms or meaning, to extreme unc- 
tion, but merely to that unction which the 
Lord Jesus directed his disciples to per- 
form on the sick.' Bede, Jonas, CEcu- 
menius, Calmet, Maldonat, and other doc- 
tors, also affirmed that ' this passage re- 
gards the unction which the apostles used 
for the cure of the sick, which was miracu- 
lous, and wholly confined to the direct effi- 
cacy of the Holy Spirit then poured upon 
the Church.'* ' The Fathers,' says Cas- 
sander, ' do not speak of more than two 
sacraments.' For example, St. Augustine 
teaches that ' as God, while Adam slept, 
drew from his side the first woman, so the 
side of Christ was pierced, that the two sac- 
raments from which His Church is formed 
came out.' ' Sacraments,' he says else- 
where, 'which are of the smallest num- 
ber, easy in practice, but exalted in their 
import.'! No, sir, never in the apostolic 
times ; never in any church where the 
covenant of grace was known ; never by 
any soul that felt the efficacy of the blood 
of Jesus, was it admitted that even the 
smallest sin could be canceled by that oil 
which, though miraculous then, as the 
water of Bethesda, was used only by 
those who, by the same power, cast out 
devils, cured the lame, destroyed hypo- 
crites with a word, and struck a magician 
with blindness." 

The Priest. " This sacrament of the 
Church, then, has no effect upon youl" 

The Candidate. " It does affect me, I as- 
sure you, but with deep grief. Yes, sir, 
whde seeing you perform your vain and 
ridiculous ceremonies (excuse the term) 
over that poor sick man, instead of enter- 
taining his fainting soul with the infinite 
love of Jesus in the efficacy of His blood, 
the promises of the Father, and the conso- 
lations of the Spirit ; instead of reading 
the Word of salvation to him, and encour- 
aging him to rely upon it ; I declare to you 
my spirit mourned within me, and I lament- 
ed at the thought that souls, called Chris- 
tians, daily close their earthly career in the 
fatal delusion of a ceremony of which the 
apostles were ignorant, of which the 
Church in the first ages knew nothing, 
which the Gospel of salvation discards, 
and which substitutes a sanctimonious 
mummery (bear with me) for the grace of 
the Father, and the fullness of life in 

* Cajet., 7». /ac.,v., torn, ii., tit. 7. Faber, ii., 357. 
Beda, vi., 693. Jonas, iii., 14. Calmet, Z)m(?rf., xix., 
49. Maldon, Comm., 754 (V. P.). 

t Cassand., Consult., zxt. 13. August., Tract. inSx. 
Jok. Id., Epist. 118, ad Januar. fKeary, Earl. Path.). 



Christ Jesus ! !" Thus, reader, I felt, and 
thus I was obliged to speak. The Bible, 
and the Bible alone, continuing to hold its 
rights in my conscience, could I do other- 
wise than yield to its supremacy] 

^ 5. ORDINATION. 

If this Latin "unction" is thus repudi- 
ated by the history of the Church, and 
especially by the Bible, let us bring before 
" the same law and testimony" another 
ceremony, which the Church of Rome 
calls the Sacrament of Ordination. The 
King and High-Priest of the Church did 
indeed establish, under the ceremonial 
law, an earthly priesthood, to which he 
assigned great privileges, and to which he 
annexed high honor, impressing upon it a 
sacred character, making it entirely dis- 
tinct and separate from every civil profes- 
sion. But this type of heavenly things 
was weak, elementary, and transient, and, 
with all the other Levitical institutions, 
terminated when grace and truth were 
manifested by the Gospel, and the Holy 
Spirit substituted, in the administration of 
the things of God, the plenitude which 
faith contemplates in Christ, for the cere- 
monies and figures of that law which could 
bring nothing to perfection.* Then the 
Lord Jesus " gave apostles, prophets, evan- 
gelists, pastors, and teachers," for the as- 
sembling together of His Church. Then 
he made known in what manner these last 
should be inducted into office, viz., by the 
" laying on of hands and by prayer ;" and 
how, in their capacity of " stewards of the 
mysteries of God," they are bound to 
" preach the Word" as ministers of Christ, 
and to feed and guide the Church, as bish- 
ops, or pastors, or teachers, or elders ; and 
that, not as lords over God's heritage, but 
from good-will, in all things showing them- 
selves examples to the flock. f Such is 
the ordination established in His house by 
the King of the Church, and which I find 
in the Gospel. Has the Church of Rome 
preserved it '? Listen, reader, to what she 
has substituted for it, and requires me to 
admit and follow as derived from God. 

" Ordination," she says, " is not an ar- 
rangement, but a sacrament, whose sign is 
the imposition of hands, and is of such a 
nature that it gives to ail other sacraments 
their meaning and force. "| 

I reply, that not only has the King not 
mentioned such an efficacy, but He has de- 
nied it, when he teaches that " the Holy 
Spirit gives efficacy to all teaching and or- 
dinances in the Church." Rome smiles 
with pity, and continues : 

" The man on whom superior ordination 
rests, holds the place of God on earth, 



* John, i., 17. Heb., vii., 11 ; viii., 7; x., 1, etc. 
t Eph., iv., Ih 1 Tim., iv., 11, etc. ; 1 Cor., iv., L 
1 Peter, v., 1-3, etc. 
% Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., c. 7, art. 1. 



ORDINATION, &c. 



7a 



whose angel he is justly termed, and whose 
name he bears."* 

I answer, neither Moses nor the proph- 
ets, nor the apostles ever allowed worship 
to be given to them ; but if they had rep- 
resented God — Here I am interrupted with 
the following additional remarks : 

" This man, then, possesses the power 
of creating the body of Christ, in the most 
holy Eucharist, and also of rendering souls 
qualified to participate in it."f 

Here 1 express my indignation, and say 
that such doctrine is an insult to the Holy 
Ghost. 

" But," it is added, without any regard 
to my complaint, " it is only on the supe- 
rior order, that is, on the priest, that this 
high dignity reposes ; although the deacons, 
sub-deacons, acolytes, exorcists, lectors, and 
even the porters, are all holy persons. "J 

I request that all this should be pointed 
out to me in the Gospel ; but this is refused, 
and I am told, in a peremptory tone, 

" This is of God, and is proved by the 
crown which the Prince of the apostles re- 
quires all the ministers of the Church to 
wear, in memory of the thorns which en- 
circled the head of Jesus Christ ; and also, 
because the clergy are a royal priesthood. 
This crown is the tonsure, which is circu- 
lar, because the circle is the figure of per- 
fection, and it becomes extended in pro- 
portion to the holiness of the ordination, 
because perfection continually approxi- 
mates to its plenitude."!^ 

I smile at this, remembering, and allud- 
ing to the different orders of priests and 
magicians of Pagan Rome, and also the 
casts and dynasties of those of India and 
China ; but my remark is heard with dis- 
dain, and I am further told, 

"The priest, then, is the sacrijicer of 
God on earth. His character is holy, in- 
delible, irrevocable. His person is holy, 
and in dignity entirely divine, above all the 
laws of earth, and above kings and their 
authority. "II 

" Can he, then," I ask with surprise, 
'' make himself equal to Satan, and say with 
him, ' All the kingdoms of the world and 
the glory of them are delivered unto me, 
and to whomsoever I will I give them V "^ 

"This holy ordination," Rome contin- 
ues, without reply, " is like the day, which, 
from its dawn, reaches its noon of perfec- 
tion. The bishop, archbishop, patriarch, 
and, lastly, his holiness the pope, form the 
heavenly degrees, the holy father being 
above all, and as God himself, whose vicar 
he is on the earth."** 



* Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., art. 2. 

t Ibid., art. 11, 12. % Ibid., art. 23. 

^ Ibid., art. 27, 28, 29, etc. 

II Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., c. 7, a. 50. - Cone. 
Later., an. 1215, cap. 3. Bellarm., De Rom. Pont., 
lib. v., 1. % Luke, iv., 6. 

** Cone. Trid., sess. xiv. Barcl., De Potest, 17. 
Faber., Disp. ii., 384 (V. P.). 

K 



At these last words I am silenced, and 
can only ask myself. What connection can 
there be between such earthly dignities and 
that ministry of the Gospel which is de- 
clared to be spiritual, and to give life ]* 

^ 6. CHASTITY OF THE CHURCH OF ROME 

It was necessary for me to hear the 
Church of Rome further on the seventh of 
her sacraments, marriage, and I had an op- 
portunity in a visit which a missionary of 
that Church made to me, and with whom 
I held a protracted conversation on this 
subject. He was young and amiable in 
his deportment, and his person bore the 
marks of a hfe of labor and austerity. His 
pale face and emaciated hands evinced 
his fastings and watchings, and his voice, 
soft and sonorous, was mingled now and 
then with deep sighs. When he arrived 
I was in my garden, surrounded by some 
of my children, while the others were play- 
ing at a little distance by themselves. 

" You see, sir," I said to him, smiling, 
after our mutual salutations, " that I am 
like the bishop of whom St. Paul writes 
to Timothy — I have my family around 
me, and I endeavor to rule them well."! 

" The holy Catholic Church does not 
think as you do, sir," he modestly replied : 
" the spouse of the bishop is the Church, 
and his children are the faithful. Such is 
evidently the apostle's meaning." 

Minister. " But he says that the bishop 
should rule his household as he rules the 
Church; the two must, then, exist." 

The Missionary. " The Church is holy, 
and she declares that there can be no pu- 
rer or happier condition here below than 
entire continence and shunning all pollu- 
tion, "f 

Minister. "When God had created the 
first man, He said ' that it is not good that 
he should be alone.' God then instituted 
marriage in Paradise itself, and before sin 
had polluted the world. God also blessed 
the union, and has declared that ' marriage 
is honorable in all.'§ Is not that holiness V* 

The Missionary. "Each one, says the 
apostle, has his own gift. Marriage is a 
remedy ; and it is holy because it is a sac- 
rament, for it is written, ' This is a mystery,- 
and even a great mystery.' "|j 

Minister. "Marriage a mystery! sir, it 
is respecting the union of Christ and His 
Church, and not that of a man and woman,, 
that these words were written.^ Besides, 
if marriage were a mystery, must it be for 
that reason a sacrament .? Is the ' mysjtery 
of iniquity,' for instance, deep as it is, also 



* 2 Cor., iii. f 1 Tim., iii., 4. 

X Cone. Trid., sess. xxiv. Catech. Cone. Trid., par 
ii., c.8, a. 1. ^ Gen., ii., 18 ; i., 28. Heb., xiii.,4. 

II Catech. Cone. Trid., ubi supra, a. 2, et seq. Bel 
larm., De Matr., c. 2, etc. 

^ 'Eyw de Xeyu) tls Xpiardv, kou eh ttiv eKKXriaiav. 
Ephes., v., 32. ♦ 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED 



74 

a sacrament 1 Is Babylon the Greats whom 
the Scriptures describe as 'a woman ar- 
rayed in purple, and drunken with the blood 
of the saints,' a sacrament, because she 
calls herself mystery V* 

The Missionanj. "It belongs to the 
Church to interpret the Scriptures, sir ; and 
while she sanctifies marriage to many, she, 
at the same time, extols and magnifies that 
spotless purity and heavenly character 
which she has established in the chastity 
of her priests and virgins, and which (mark 
it) was the charm and glory of the union 
of Adam and Eve while they dwelt in Par- 
adise."! 

It was difficult, reader, for me to reply 
to such deep-rooted opinions and views, 
without painfully mortifying them. Be- 
sides, the subject was delicate. I under- 
stood its nature and extent, but could not 
expose the facts connected with it, without 
exciting the indignation of a heart which 
seemed not to suspect the hidden things 
which I was to bring to light. I deter- 
mined to let the Scriptures speak first, and 
then the history of the Church of Rome ; 
and in order to ascertain whether I could 
gain the attention of the missionary, I re- 
marked, 

" I see, sir, that your heart is both sin- 
cere and zealous, and I doubt not that the 
truth on every subject is precious to it. 
Permit me, then, I pray you, to disclose 
my sentiments to you respecting that chas- 
tity of the church which you serve. In 
doing so, I will limit myself to the present- 
ation, first, of some of the declarations of 
the Bible ; next, the decisions of the fathers ; 
and, finally, the principal facts which the 
history of your church has recorded." 

The missionary assented to my proposal, 
and I proceeded : " Every work of God is 
perfect and holy, at all times and in every 
place. He, as I have said, blessed Adam 
and his companion when he had created 
them for each other, and bade them in- 
crease and multiply on the earth ; and this, 
too, be it remembered, when, as yet, sin 
was unknown to them. Therefore, all then 
was holy and pure, and they were thus, in 
marriage, to serve the Lord without sin 
and base lusts. Had man remained in in- 
nocence, both he and his companion, bear- 
ing the image of God, would have seen 
their children born in that hohness, and 
they, too, would have married and multi- 
plied, continuing in the same state of inno- 
cence. Their chastity, then, would have 
remained untarnished, no unnatural stain 
would have marred their holy and happy 
union, and never would celibacy or virginity 
have been able to pretend to a higher de- 
gree of holiness than that which the bless- 
ing of the Most High had established for- 
ever in the prolonged marriage of immor- 

* 2 Thess., ii., 7. Rev., xvii., 7. 

t La Sacra Biblia, etc., Gen., iv., l*(Firenze, 1835). 



tal generations invariably pure and spot- 
less." 

The Missionary. " Well, sir, if such would 
have been the state of innocence, the state 
of sin is quite another thing. It has in- 
fected and corrupted all, and lust and the 
disorderly appetites of the flesh disgrace 
and pervert that institution of Heaven, and 
that union has become the corrupt source 
of the foulest crimes. In this state of 
things, how can the Church, the chaste 
spouse of Christ, whom holiness covers 
as a robe, allow those, who should aim to 
be perfect, the indulgence of those carnal 
inclinations of the body in which the soul 
is merely transitory, and whose desires it 
is bound to sacrifice 1 But, so far from this, 
she has in all ages crowned with honor 
the immaculate purity of her sons and 
daughters, who, submissive to the com- 
mands of Jesus Christ and the holy apos- 
tles, to crucify the flesh, with its affections 
and lusts, have renounced marriage for the 
kingdom of heaven, and preserved them- 
selves pure, venerating virginity. Do not 
the Scriptures command this 1 and did not 
the fathers in all ages sanction it by their 
example as well as precept 1" 

The Minister. " The Church of God is 
holy in all ages and countries. She was 
so when she dwelt in the tents with the 
Patriarchs, when she worshiped in the 
Tabernacle, in the wilderness, and in the 
Temple at Jerusalem. Then, as ever, 
' purity adorned her dwelling, and chastity 
was a crown upon her forehead.' Yet, 
even then, marriage was the blessing and 
the duty of her priests. Abraham was a 
father, and they were the generations of 
Aaron who were to succeed each other in 
the sacred office of the high priesthood. 
Chastity then was found in the bonds of 
marriage as well as in celibacy; and if, 
under the shadow of the law of ceremonies, 
and for a transient service, entire conti- 
nency was required from sacrifices, or in 
the performance of certain vows, yet never, 
either before the law or during its dispen- 
sation, was celibacy imposed by God on the 
ministers at His altar." 

The Missionary. " What, sir ! Do you 
sustain your proposition by the example 
of an age when, as our Saviour says, the 
hardness of men''s hearts permitted them to 
send away or repudiate their wives, and 
even to take several at once 1 Do you blend 
the customs of the patriarchs, who had 
scarcely any light from Heaven, of a church 
enveloped in the obscurity of a temporary 
law, with the divine purity which the Gos- 
pel enjoins on all who would imitate Jesus, 
and obtain, at last, the crowns of the bless- 
ed?" 

The Minister. " But, sir, does not St. Paul 
declare that he and Barnabas, and the other 
apostles, the brothers of the Lord also, and 
Cephas, had the right to lead about a wife 



MARRIAGE. 



with theml* Were not Peter and Philip, 
according to the New Testament, married 
men and fathers of families ; and does not 
Ambrose say that ' all the apostles except 
John and Paul were married menT "f 

The Missionary. " That is, as history 
proves, they were married previous to their 
being called to the priesthood; but then, 
undoubtedly, they had wives as though 
they had none." 

Minister. " But had it been so, St. Paul 
could not have said that he, an apostle, 
had the right to take one." 

The Missionary. " Let a single example, 
however, be shown in history, of a priest, 
a man having taken holy orders, marry- 
ing." 

Minister. " The canon of the Bishop of 
Hippone, at least, can be adduced, which 
says, ' Certain persons pretend that they 
who marry after their vow are adulterers ; 
but, on my part, I say that those who separ- 
ate such, sin grievously.'! But, more espe- 
-cially, I would ask, if, as the Holy Spirit 

* guides the Church into all truth,' we are 
to suppose that it was merely for the mo- 
ment when its directions were writing, 
that it said, in that general manner, that 
the wife of a bishop and the wife of a dea- 
con should be faithful in all things V'^ 

The Missionary. " St. Paul, however, 
commended celibacy and continency, and 
declared that the woman who remained a 
virgin will serve God more holily than she 
who marries. "II 

Minister. " Certainly he did, and this 
counsel, which he gives his brethren he- 
cause of their existing circumstances, is wor- 
thy of reception. Celibacy and virginity 
may be necessary, or very useful, in the 
consecration of a soul to the service of 
God ; and I would honor the disciple whose 
piety determines him to this choice. But 
there is a wide difference between this 
counsel, which we are at liberty to re- 
ceive or to reject, and a command of 
God which, you say, ' forbids marriage to 
priests, because such a union is not pure.' 

* Marriage,' says the Lord, and I repeat it, 

* is honorable in all.' Neither priests nor 
Christian virgins are excepted from this 
honorable condition ; and by forbidding it, 
says St. Paul, they ' give heed to seducing 
spirits and doctrines of devils ;' an aposta- 
cy which the Spirit predicted, and calls a 
departure from the faith. "Tf 

The Missionary. " How beautiful, never- 
theless, is that chastity of the body and 
soul which the servants of Jesus preserve ! 
What a crown will they one day wear ; 
and what glory already rests on those 



* 1 Cor., ix., 5. Malt., viii., ]4. Acts, xxi., 9. 

i- Ambr., in 2 Cor., ii., et Matth., viii., 14. Clem., 
535 ; Strom., 3. Eus., iii., 30, 31 (V. P.). 

X August., Can. Quidam, Dist. 27 (Bur. du Cone, 
-de Tr.). § 1 Tim., iii., 2, 11, 12. Titus, i., 6. 

11 1 Cor., vii., 1, 8, 34. f 1 Tim., iv., 1, 3. 



disciples who, treading under their feet the 
passions and lusts of the flesh, overcome 
and subdue a body of sin, and thus free 
their souls from the bonds of sensuality 
and the disorders of licentiousness ! Is it 
not of them that it is written, they ' were 
not defiled with women, for they are vir- 
gins,' and ' which follow the Lamb whith- 
ersoever he goeth,' and are ' the first-fruits 
unto God' in heaven f* 

Minister. "Justly, then, said Ambrose, 
' If it is the virginity of the body, and not 
that of the soul, that is here intended, how 
many holy men are excluded from heaven ; 
for all the apostles, except Paul and John 
(I repeat it), were married !' "f 

The Missionary. "And I also repeat, it 
is St. Paul who commends and extols cel- 
ibacy." 

Minister. " As a precaution, I say again, 
and not as meritorious. Thus, also, Au- 
gustine understood it, for he says, ' In the 
same manner as there was no more merit 
of patience in Peter, who suffered martyr- 
dom, than in John, who did not, so, also, 
there was no more merit of continence in 
John, who remained single, than in Abra- 
ham, who had children. "J 

The Missionary. " Nevertheless, the 
Church is explicit on this point." 

Minister. " At least the Council of Gan- 
grens thus decrees : ' Anathema against him 
who, because he prefers celibacy, regards 
marriage as an impure thing.' ""^ 

The Missionary. " What commendations, 
however, celibacy receives from all the 
doctors of the Church !" 

Minister. " Yes, it was one of your saints, 
the eloquent Abbe of Clairvaux, who said, 
with such force, 'Take away from the 
Church honorable marriage, and see if you 
will not fill it with fornicators, the inces- 
tuous, the effeminate, and impure mon- 
sters, and with all kinds of lascivious- 
ness and debauchery. '|| He did not speak 
this lightly. He doubtless knew well what 
had taken place in the Church from the 
apostolical times to his day, and he knew 
also that the celibacy of the priests was 
an intolerable bondage, and of very recent 
date." 

The Missionary. " What do you mean, 
sir ] Is not the celibacy of the clergy an 
apostolical institution? Is there the least 
uncertainty on this point V 

Minister. " Since you put these ques- 
tions so directly, my dear sir, I will reply 
without reserve. Bear with me, then, if, in 
placing the facts, with their proofs, before 
you, I shock your own convictions, and 
am compelled to show you your error, or^ 
at least, the delusion of your mind." 

The Missimiary. " I will hear what you 



■^ Rev., xiv., 4. t Ambr., in 2 Cor.,ii. 

X August., De bono conjug. (W.). 

^ Cone. Gangrens, c. 9 (Ibid.). 

II Bernard., Serm. 66, in Tim., iii., 2, 12, et iv., 3. 



76 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



have to say, for I believe your intention 
is good. Speak freely, then, I pray you." 

^ 7. HISTORY OF THE CELIBACY OF THE 
PRIESTS. 

Minister. " For more than four hundred 
years, that is to say, from the apostles to 
about the commencement of the Jifth cen- 
tury, neither the historical monuments, nor 
the writings of the fathers, nor the customs 
of the Church, furnish the slightest ground 
to suppose that celibacy was enjoined on 
the pastors, or even esteemed and preferred 
as holier than marriage by the leaders of the 
flocks. Neither Bellarmine nor Thomas- 
sin could discover any traces of it; and 
yet these first four centuries were not de- 
ficient either in pious theologians, faithful 
historians, or councils jealous for the hon- 
or and purity of the Church. Why, then, 
this silence on the subject; and, on the 
other hand, why do we find, in these very 
authentic documents, evidence that the 
marriage of the bishops was then the uni- 
form custom of the Church V 

The Missionary (earnestly). " Pray, sir, 
is that well proved V 

Minister. " Hear, and then decide. 1 
have some notes on this subject, which I 
will read to you. Denys, bishop of Cor- 
inth, in the second century, one of the most 
distinguished men of his day, both for his 
learning and the holiness of his life (so 
that, as Epiphanius said, his writings were 
read in public every Sunday, and his influ- 
ence was extended and salutary over sev- 
eral other churches), having heard that 
Pinytus, one of the bishops of the island 
of Crete, wished to impose celibacy on the 
clergy of his diocese, wrote him a letter, 
which has been preserved by Eusebius, 
and the result of which was that Pinytus 
humbled himself before the Church, ac- 
knowledged his error, and abandoned it.* 

" Clement of Alexandria, about the year 
'220, preached that the benefit of mar- 
riage, according to the Lord, belongs to all 
men, both to the elders and deacons, as 
well as to the laity. ' What can the op- 
ponent of marriage say against paternity,' 
he adds, ' when it is allowed to the bishop, 
who is required to rule the Church as he 
governs his own family I'f 

" Did not Origen, in the middle of the 
third century, declare that bishops were 
married men, when, in giving his particu- 
lar opinion thereon, he wrote that ' it 
would be better were it otherwise VX 

" Did not, also, the ffth of those canons 
called apostolical excommunicate, in the 
fourth century, the bishop, priest, or dea- 
con who, under pretext of piety, should 
separate from his wife ? The clergy at 



* Eusebius. Hist., iv., 22. Niceph., iv., 8. 
dosa, 11, 60 (V. P.). 

t Clem. Alex., torn, ii., 552, in 1 Tim., ill., 4. 
X Orig., Horn, xxiii. 



Men- 



that time, therefore, married, as divorce 
was forbidden to them."* 

The Missionary. " Yet, sir, St. Ignatius, 
the cotemporary and disciple of the apos- 
tles, and, very near his time, St. Justin, 
St. Irenaeus, and Athenagorus, then Ter- 
tullian, St. Basil, St. Chrysostom, St. Am- 
brose, St. Augustine, and many other holy 
Fathers, praise and recommend celibacy 
and virginity in their sermons, epistles, or 
commentaries."! 

Minister. " I know it ; and there are two 
things which we both should remember ; 
first, that the pagans also, in their idola- 
trous superstitions, celebrated the praises 
of virginity and celibacy. The Romans had 
their Vestals, and among the Greeks the 
Hierophants made themselves eunuchs by 
drinking hemlock. The Egyptian priests, 
and those of Cybele, also mutilated their 
bodies to attain to it ; while the Gnostics 
and the Manicheans, if they allowed mar- 
riage to their disciples, auditors, forbade it 
to their elect.X In all this there was no 
holiness, much less obedience to the com- 
mand of God. It was superstition that 
cherished these vows and practices ; and 
if the Christian doctors whom you have 
named were seduced by the same delu- 
sion, we should not pronounce it more 
holy with them than it was among idola- 
ters. Especially, we should not forget 
one thing, which ought to be well consid- 
ered, viz., 'it is impossible to find in the 
most filthy and obscene writings of shame- 
less libertines, descriptions, expressions, 
details, or recitals as impure as those 
which abound in the works of Jerome, 
Augustine, Chrysostom, and particularly 
Basil, when they treat of virginity.' Wo 
to him who reads them ! if he would keep 
his imagination pure, and not fan in his 
heart the flame of the most licentious vo- 
luptuousness !^ Tell me, sir, would the 
Holy Spirit employ such language in com- 
mending to His Church the celibacy or vir- 
ginity of those whom he calls His temples ? 
Is it not rather the commendation of the 
devil ?" 

The Missionary. " They were wrong, I 
acknowledge, but the Catholic Church has, 
notwithstanding, ordered at all times that 
her priests should be unmarried." 

CONTRADICTIONS. 

Minister. " Not so, sir ; on this point, as 
on many others, the self-contradictions of 
the Latin Church are innumerable. I will 
quote but a few of them : 



* Labbe, i., 20. 

t Ignat., c. 5. Cote\er.,Patr.Apost.,u.,92. Jus- 
tin, Opera, p. 22. Chrys., De Virgin. 

t Hieronym., lib. ii., adv. Jov. Bruys, Hist., torn, 
ii., p. 142. August., Oper. (Venet.), torn, i., 739, et 
viii., 14. 

ij Basil, torn, iii., 588. De Virgin., iii., 646. Du 
Pin, torn, i., 234. Chrysost., De Virgin., c. 9, Horn. 
62. Hieron., adv. Jov., iv., 177. August., De Civ. 
Dei, i., 18 ; xiv., 16, 24, 26 (V. P.). 



CELI.BACY OF THE PRIESTS. 



77 



" We have seen that the first centuries 
afford no evidence of this ordinance of the 
-» Church. Then, from the edict of Pope 
t Siricius, in 385, to the famous Hildebrand, 
nothing was more disputed and sharply 
contested by the Latin clergy than this 
yoke of the celibacy of the priests, which 
the Eastern Church threw off almost unan- 
imously, and continues to reject. Thus the 
Council of Gangres, in 324, anathematized 
those who should refuse the benediction 
g{ a married priest.* Socrates and Niceph- 
orus testify that then the ecclesiastics 
were married, and heads of families,! and 
that those who lived in celibacy did so 
merely from choice. And if, under Helio- 
dorus, who was one of the bishops of Thes- 
salia in the fourth century, celibacy was 
enjoined on the clergy of his diocese, the 
Council of Ancyra, in 315, did not order it, 
for then, says Gratian, ' the continency of 
the ministers of the altar was not yet in- 
troduced.'! Farther, when, in 3-i5, the 
Council of Nice wished to decree the celi- 
bacy of the priests, Paphnucius, bishop of 
Upper Thebais, one of the confessors of the 
faith, a man venerated by the whole Church, 
and who had himself lived in celibacy, op- 
posed with power the design of the coun- 
cil, declaring that ' marriage is honorable 
in all, and the bed undefiled ;' and the whole 
council acquiesced in this opinion.^ If, at 
a later period, Epiphanius, and, afterward, 
Jerome, testified in favor of celibacy, their 

► opinions are those of men who not only 
place such iniquity above every virtue, 
above piety and perfection, as if the puri- 
ty of the soul consisted in it alone, but 
(as Jerome and Ambrose) go so far as to 
commend suicide and murder, by pronounc- 
ing 'holy' those women who, to avoid the 
violence of a brutal soldiery, killed them- 
selves or those who had committed the 
outrage. II 

" Does the chastity which the Holy 
Spirit teaches have recourse to such acts, 
or receive such encomiums ? The Greek 
Church, however, never went farther than 
to enjoin celibacy on her bishops only. 
She always allowed the rest of the clergy 
to marry, and the Eastern churches have 
followed this rule."T[ 

The Missionary. "And the Church of 
Rome, sir, always held up her strict conti- 
nency, in contrast with them ; and those 
churches charged her with excessive rig- 
or."** 

Minister. " With rigor, you say. Ah ! 
was it rigor, was it even continency, which 



led the Latin clergy from the fifth century 
to live in concubinage (if we believe Cyp- 
rian and Jerome) with those ' holy' wom- 
en, professing to be their housekeepers, 
while the church refused them wives 1* 
Was it in praise of the chastity of that cus- 
tom, that Jerome and Chrysostom ironi- 
cally or indignantly describe the extrava- 
gance, the allurements, and the licentious 
conversation of those so much boasted 
virgins ?-\ And what shall be said of the 
fornications, adulteries, incests, and other 
abominations which were common among 
the clergy of Italy, and which caused an 
historian of those days to say that, ' for the 
adorning of vile courtesans, the churches 
were stripped and the poor left to suffer ?'{ 
In fine, the seventh Council of Metz, in 888, 
in opposition to those councils which had 
permitted ecclesiastics to have 'their moth- 
ers or their sisters' in their houses with 
them, had to forbid it, in order to put a 
stop to the most monstrous crimes ! !^ This, 
sir, is the fruit of that boasted celibacy, that 
chastity, so much extolled, till the days 
when the iron hand of Hildebrand added 
weight to the chains which the Latin cler- 
gy knew so well how to relax. He, Greg- 
ory VIL, by his usual course of menaces, 
flatteries, chastisements, promises, and es- 
pecially his immovable obstinacy, regard- 
ing neither remonstrances nor complaints, 
nor even the revolt of the clergy, issued 
that decree which now governs your 
church, and which he himself laughed at 
in his criminal intercourse with the Count- 
ess of Mantua. II And what was the result 
of this unscriptural and unnatural law l 
Alas ! sir, shall I not grieve you by re- 
calling it to your view"? Was it not a 
council of Toledo, sanctioned by Pope Leo, 
which permitted by a decree, ' a concubine' 
to the priest to whom his wife and the 
mother of his legitimate children was prohib- 
ited ll" For the Latin Casuists (and among 
them a cardinal !) dared even to write, ' The 
concubinage of a priest is less criminal 
than his marriage ; and if he marries, he 
incurs more guilt than if he entertained 
several debauched women in his house ! !'** 
Yes, sir, to this excess of folly and turpi- 
tude did the theologians of that school 
come ; and under the laws of such celibacy, 
' the priests who married,' say Agrippa 
and De Thou, ' were deposed, while those 
who, in contempt of human and divine 
laws, lived in fornication and infamy, re- 
tained their charges. 'ff Ah, sir, what kind 
of chastity is this]" 



^ Ciabbe, Cona7.,i.,291. Labbe, ii., 438. Du Pin, 
i., 612. t Socrat., Hist., ii., 43 (Id.). 

X Gratian, Z)is?.,xxviii.,c. 13. Pithon,41. Crabbe, 
i., 201 (V. P.). 

() Socrat., Hist. 1., ii. Sozom., i., 23. Labbe, i., 
1233. Pithon, 42 (lb.). 

II Hieron., Oper., torn, iv., 186. Morei, vii., 159 
(Ibid.). f Canis., iv., 25, 433. 

** Thomas., i., 28, pt. ii. Du Pin, ii., 24 (V. P.). 



* Hieron., ad Eust., iv., 33. Cyprian, ad Pomp. 

t Hieron., iv., 40. Chrys., De Subin., i., 231 
(V. P.) X Atto, Ep., 9. Dacbery, i., 439 (Ibid.). 

^ Bin., vii., 37. Labbe, xi., 586. 

il Matth. Paris, viii Bruys, ii., 431. Lambert, 
Ann., 1074. Labbe, xii., 347. Spond.,£'jo.,1074 (V.P.). 

if Pithon, 47. Bin., i., 739. Crabbe, i., 449 (lb.). 

** Cotel., c. 15. Campeggio, in Sleida?L, 96. 

tt Agrippa, m5aj/Ze,i., 111. Thuan.,ii.,417(V.P.). 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



The Missionary. " Prejudice blinds you, 
sir. You see only the errors and disor- 
ders, and you forget that the Church al- 
ways condemned them, and rejected ihem 
from her bosom." 

'File Minister. "Did not Pope Gregory 
II., and with him Boniface, authorize big- 
amy 1* Did not the Council of Verberie, 
in 752, authorize divorce, even on suspicion 
raised against a woman? Did not Pope 
Celestine also allow it on accusation of 
heresy ? And did not Innocent IV. sanc- 
tion the divorce of Alphonse of Portugal ?" 

The Missionary. " Impossible ! sir ; and 
believe me, these are only errors and delu- 
sions of interested minds." 

The Minister. " Well, what do the annals 
of the ages that follow tell us respecting 
the celibacy of the priests, the chastity of holy 
virgins 1 Are these delusions ? Does not 
the Abbe of Clairvaux mourn over the im- 
purity of the prelates and clergy, who, he 
said, ' committed in secret disorders Avhich 
it is a disgrace to nameTf Does not 
Agrippa mention, among other crimes, that 
of a bishop who boasted of having in his 
diocese eleven thousand priests, who paid 
him each a golden crown for a dispensa- 
tion of concubinage 1% Does not a profes- 
sor of the University of Paris, in the fif- 
teenth century — who, to the picture of the 
ignorance and simony of some, adds that 
of the debauchery of others — say that the 
cathedrals are the retreats of robbers, 
while ' the monasteries are turned into 
taverns and places of prostitution V^ And 
Clemengis, that doctor of the Sorbonne, 
what has he written on the secret and 
public manners of the monasteries and 
convents, where those men and women 
lived who should have been clothed in 
chastity ? What descriptions, what accu- 
sations, what infamies, alas ! and what 
crimes and transgressions ! How many 
children killed before and at their birth! 
How much blood shed by those men so 
continent ; by those women so pure ! !\\ 
Are these delusions, sir ? Does not Meze- 
ray, and several historians with him, hold 
the same language, and bring the same 
accusations 1 And if we cast our eyes on 
other countries, do we not see the same 
evils which infected Italy and France ; 
and all produced by this same principle, 
the forced celibacy of the clergy, and that 
virginity so glorious ?" 

The Missionary. "But allow me to tell 
you, sir, that there is, perhaps, little honor 
in collecting together scattered abuses, and 
pronounce judgment upon them as if they 
formed the character of the whole." 



* Greg. II., Epist. 13. Labbe, viii., 178. 
t( Bernard, in Cone. Rhem. (V. P., 526). 
t Agrippa, in Bayle, i., 111. 
^ Henry de Vienne, in L' Enfant, Pisa, i., 53 (V. P.), 
II Clemang., Hist, de Corr. cedes., 26. L'Enf., i.. 
70. Bruys, ill., 610, 611. 



The Minister. "Well, dear sir, consult 
for yourself the histories and documents 
of those times, and ascertain for yourself 
the justice of the accusations which are 
brought against them. Thus, look at Eng- 
land, where, from the sixth century, ' the 
clergy wallowed,' says Gildas, ' in sensu- 
ahty, debauchery, and obscenity ; where, 
in the tenth century, King Edgar reproach- 
ed the ecclesiastics to their face with their 
detestable pollution, and told them that 
" their houses were but the haunts of vile 
women ; infamous places, where dancing, 
gaming, theatricals, and excesses of all 
kinds succeeded each other and are per- 
petuated." '* Then look at Spain— did not 
a faithful historian say that there were al- 
most as many children of the clergy as of 
laymen, and that usually the priest went 
from his concubine to the altar '?t Did not 
the Council of Valladolid, in 1322, and that 
of Toledo, in 1473, represent the clergy as 
living in the most detestable impurity, 
practicing seduction and adultery 1% Look, 
also, at Germany. Why did on« of the 
councils, in 1225, accuse the clergy of las- 
civiousness, voluptuousness, and public and 
unbounded obscenities 1 Why did a Coun- 
cil of Cologne in 1536, and another in 1549, 
decree censures and penances on account 
of the incontinency, luxuriousness, and 
prostitution of the priests, the monks, and 
the nuns ^^ Why, even in the Council of 
Trent, did the Duke of Bavaria complain 
of the infamy and corruption of the clergy 
of his states ? Why did Ferdinand, Max- 
imilian, and other princes, beseech the 
pope to abolish this celibacy of priests, but 
because, as they said, • all clerical men, al- 
most without exception, were fornicators 
and adulterers V\\ Again, look at Switzer- 
land. Was it not ordained by law, in that 
country, that every priest should have a 
concubine, ' so as to prevent them from 
assaulting the virtue of honest women V^ 
See, even in America, what habits the cler- 
gy transmitted to Peru. Can the deprav- 
ity of those whom these Christians called 
savages, be compared with the debauchery 
and turpitude which Ulloa relates to us of 
his countrymen 1 Does he not, among oth- 
er abominations, mention that of a priest 
who celebrated mass surrounded by his 
mistresses, and served by one of his sons, 
and several others of whose children were 
in the Church 1** But especially, what will 
you see if you consent to look toward 
Rome, the residence of the prelates and 
princes of the Church 1 Was it not there 
that dissolute women lodged in splendid 



* Gildas, Epist. 23, 38. Fardun, c. 30. Bruys, 
ii., 219. t Bruys, iii., 308. Alvar., ii., 27. 

t Labbe, xv., 247 ; ix., 389. Bin., viii., 957. 

^Bin., viii., 833, 835. Labb6, xiii., 1095, 1098; 
xix., 1280, 1384 (V. P.). 

i! Thuan., ii.,417 ; xxxvi., 38. Bruys, iv., 681. Ga- 
butius, 21. Fra Paolo, ii., 680. 1[ Id., i., 32. 

*■* Ulloa, 449, 503 (V. P.). 



CELIBACV OF THE CLERGY. 



79 



palaces, and appeared in public only when 
surrounded by the clergy of the highest 
rank !* Were there not popes, even, who 
received tribute from the places of debauch- 
ery 1 Was not the palace of Lateran also 
the dwelling of the most infamous courte- 
sans ; and need I mention all those of the 
sovereign pontiffs who were notoriously 
polluted with incest and adultery, and enor- 
mities of which the very name is abomina- 
ble ] And in conclusion, remember, sir, the 
state of morals in the cities of Lyons, Con- 
stance, and Basle, when the general coun- 
cils assembled there. ' The first of these 
cities,' says a faithful historian, ' then be- 
came an entire and vast place of prostitu- 
tion.' At Constance, from a thousand to 
fifteen hundred courtesans followed the 
numerous unmarried men who composed 
the hoi]/ council ; and these abandoned wom- 
en lived there in voluptuousness, and col- 
lected gold and silver in profusion, while, 
at the same time, the Bible was there thrown 
into the flames, together with two of its 
defenders.! 

" Such, sir, is the historical testimony 
whith I have been constrained to bring up ; 
and yet I have said nothing, either of that 
fatal melancholy which destroyed so many 
men and women, whom rash vows had 
caused to sunder the ties of nature (here 
the missionary sighed deeply), nor of those 
brutal and ferocious disciplines and auster- 
ities, by which numbers prostrated and de- 
stroyed their bodies ; nor of the crimes of 
secrecy and darkness, which remind one 
of those bones of little children, which have 
been dug up in so many holy places 3 for 
instance, in the days of the Reformation, 
when Henry VIII. had the vaults of the 
convents and abbeys searched ; or when 
thousands were taken up from the bottom 
of a pond, situated in the vicinity of some 
convents and monasteries, and the discov- 
ery of which caused so much horror and 
remorse to the pope, whose decree had 
produced all those infanticides.^ 

The Missionanj {with grief). "These re- 
citals (for how can they be denied) sad- 
den the soul. What abuses ! What unfaith- 
fulness ! How many perjured ones ! How 
many vows violated and trampled upon!" 

The Minister. " Ah, sir, say rather, what 
indignation of God against a diabolical doc- 
trine ; against a system by which, in order 
to render the clergy a privileged caste, and 
give them power over the people, they are 
compelled to forego those ties which our 
Avise and beneficent Creator constituted, 
and which the Lord Jesus blessed under 
the Gospel." 



* Crabbe, iii., 823. Cossart., Condi., v., 547. Bruys, 
ill., 374 ; ii., 244. Luitprand, vi. Labbe,- xi., 881-. 

t Matlh. Paris, 702, Labbe, xvi., 1435. Bruys 
iv., 39 (V. P.). 

t Marnix, Views of the Diff. of Relig., vol. ii., 205, 
206. Jov. Pont., De crudel, c. 6. 



The Missionary (with animation). " But, 
sir, if the minister of the altar, in order to 
devote himself more entirely to God, de- 
prives himself of the pleasures and duties 
of the family state, does he not obey the 
Saviour^ who said that ' there are men who 
renounce marriage for the kingdom of 
heaven V "* 

The Minister. " ' All are not able to do 
it,' the Lord also said, ' but they to whom 
it is given ;' and those who despise the 
command uttered by the same mouth to 
marry so as to avoid impurity,t suffer the 
punishment of it, and by their errors and 
sufferings prove that 'man shall not justify 
what God condemns.' Beside, sir, what 
constant complaints and protestations con- 
tinually and every where arise against 
that fatal vow of chastity, that yoke which 
no generation could bear; and which, in 
the day of God's judgment, will come up 
as a terrible witness, both against those 
who impose it, and are able to withdraw 
from it, and those who receive it and evade 
or despise it, or become its victims ! Ex- 
cuse me, then, I pray you, if, knowing the 
history of the celibacy of the priests, I refuse 
to recognize in the Church of Rome tha^ 
chastity which you have so highly extolled 
Yes, excuse me, if, in making the Bible 
my guide, I reject a practice which it con- 
demns, and declare that the Holy Spirit 
never sanctioned an institution which fo- 
ments such excesses, and which is obliged 
daily to cover with a thick veil of false- 
hood, hypocrisy, or secrecy, the same deeds 
which the very pagans of ancient Rome 
called 'crimes.'" 

Reader, you who have followed me in 
this argument, do you think I have gone 
too far, or that I am too inflexible in my 
decision, when I again decide that I will 
have nothing to do with a church which 
exhibits to me such infamy \ 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 
^ 1. THE PILGRIMAGE. 

On one of the highest summits of Mount 
Etzel, at the eastern extremity of Lake 
Zurich, stands the small chapel of St. Mein- 
rad, held in great veneration in the Church 
of Rome, and which is like the gate of the 
wild valley, where, at a short distance, is 
seen the ancient abbey of " Our Lady of the 
Hermits." Every year innumerable mul- 
titudes of pilgrims come from all quarters 
to these holy places, and there is seen, in 
all its pomp and excess, that worship which 
the Church of Rome gives to the Virgin 
Mary, the angels and saints, and to all 
kinds of images and relics. 

I was returning from the north of Switz- 
erland. I had passed through the gloomy 



* Maith., xix., 12. 



t 1 Cor., vii., 2. 



60 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



and deserted city of Constance ; I had there 
worshiped the Saviour in the very dun- 
geons of John Huss and Jerome of 
Prague ; I had praised Him in that hall 
wliere an impious and murderous council 
was held, and before those seats which an 
impious emperor and pope had occupied ; 
and 1 had given thanks to Him on the spot 
forever consecrated, where the stakes of 
two faithful martyrs of the Bible were light- 
ed. My soul was full of gratitude toward 
Him who gave me His Word, and I desired 
to recall to my mind and to impress on my 
heart the blessings which flow from this 
source, in the very place where, three cen- 
turies before, the Spirit of God revealed 
them by that very Word to the sincere and 
learned Zwingle, then a preacher of the cel- 
ebrated monastery which I came to visit.* 
It was on the morning of a bright day. 
I was resting on an open hillock, whence 
the view extended over the distant banks 
of the lake to the plains and mountains 
surrounding it, which bounded the horizon. 
Bands of pilgrims, who had come from the 
cities, boroughs, and villages of Alsace, of 
Brisgau, of the Black Forest, of Suabia, 
and even of Hungary and Austria, ascend- 
ed the steep path, on which, for nearly 
eight centuries, crowds of those travelers, 
of every rank and age, have followed each 
other. Old men, and youth, and mothers 
with their children, slowly ascended the 
narrow and paved road, and each accord- 
ing to the form of devotion which he had 
chosen. Here, a man, already bent under 
the weight of years, bore a thick yoke of 
the heaviest wood on his neck. There, a 
young woman bowed her head beneath an 
enormous stone, with which she had load- 
ed herself from the foot of the mountain. 
Another man had his feet clogged with 
fetters. Another had burdened himself 
with a heavy cross made of two stakes 
A trembling old woman walked painfully 
with her hands bound together. Another 
woman felt her way along, with her face 
covered with a black cloth ; while another 
of these disciples advanced by taking two 
steps backward for every three made for- 
ward. 

^ 2. INVOCATION OF THE VIRGIN. 

The bell of the chapel rung, and their 



prayer was heard as follows : " Blessed 
Mother of Gtod ; Ever Virgin ; Princess of 
Heaven; Queen of Mankind ; Empress of 
Angels ; Only and Sovereign Mistress of 
the Universe ;* Refuge of Sinners ; Gate 
of Heaven ; Mother of Compassions, and 
Light of the World, which you have made, 
which you preserve and govern ;t we cast 
ourselves before you, we adore and sup- 
plicate you, together with the holy apos- 
tles, St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Andrew, 
and with them all the saints, to look to- 
ward us, your unworthy and miserable 
servants, who live by your love alone! 
Spouse of the living God, Lamp of Grace, 
to whom God has given the right of lenity 
and compassion, save us ! for without your 
pity, we are lost. The hope of life is in 
you ..alone. "J 

This prayer was followed by a hymn, in 
which St. Meinrad was invoked and praised, 
with the angels and several saints ; and as 
soon as these pilgrims arrived before the 
chapel, they prostrated themselves, kiss- 
ing the dust, and muttered other prayers. 
Thus all these bands followed each other ; 
they then advanced in order toward the 
abbey, whither the supernatural picture of 
the " Blessed Virgin" attracted them, and 
where her worshipers were to find mirac- 
ulous cures, with the absolution of all their 
sins. 

I saw it myself, reader, and walked 
among those pilgrims ; I was present at 
their worship and their festival ; I follow- 
ed their adorations ; I assisted at their 
ceremonies ; I conversed with several of 
them ; and I was enabled to learn, in re- 
spect to them, and in detail, all that the 
Church of Rome invites me to do in bid- 
ding me enter her bosom. I did not, in- 
deed, find, in other stations of that Church, 
all that I saw at Einsiedlen to the same 
extent. She acts with caution ; and if in 
countries where she is free, where she 
rules, and especially where she does not 
act under the enlightened restraint of the 
disciples of the Bible, she gives herself up 
without reserve to her principles and to 
all their exactions ; she knows how to 
moderate herself and impose upon herself 
restraints in the presence of heretics and 
the Word of God; and not expose those 



* Ulrich Zwingle was bom in 1484, at Wildhaus, 
in Tockenburg, Switzerland ; he pursued his stud- 
ies at Basle, and, after having been for ten years cu- 
rate of Glaris, he was, in 15] 6, called to be a preacher 
at Our Lady of the Hermits (Einsiedlen), in the can- 
ton of Schweitz. There it was, principally, that, hav- 
ing read with diligence and with constant prayers the 
Holy Scriptures, he was enlightened on the nature of 
the doctrines and worship of the Church of Rome, and 
began that reformation which he afterward contin- 
ued zealously at Zurich, and which soon spread over 
several of the Swiss cantons. See the History of 
the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, by Merle 
d'Aubigne, vol. ii., p. 362, and foil., wherein is found 
the most authentic and interesting relation of that 
remarkable epoch. 



* Garden of the Rosary (beginning). Respecting 
all that follows, see, among other books, the Con- 
formities of Modern Ceremonies with the Ancient, 1667. 
Bost, Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures relating to the 
Worship of Mary, Paris, 1835. Pagan Rome, Paris, 
1838. Anatomy of the Mass, by P. du Moulin. The 
Evangelical Proselyte, by Gilles de Gaillard, 1643. 
Of the Opinion of the Fathers respecting Images, by J. 
Daille, 1641. See, also, Counsels to the indiscreet 
Devotees of the Virgin, by the Bishop of Tourney. 

t Office of the Virgin, YiidiUy . Psalter of Bonaven- 
tura. The Breviary. De Salo, Salasar, Crasset, 
easterns, Bernard de Bustis, Alain, etc. De Bus- 
tis says that even God is subjected to the Virgin Mary. 
— (T. C, b. xii., c. 31.) 

X Basn., Eccl. Hist., b. xviii,, c. 11. Cheminais, 
Serrn., v. ii., p. 142, 145, etc. 



WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 



81 



portions of her worship, nor the books 
which contain them, which might shock 
in the least degree the intelUg-ence of her 
adversaries or judges. It is true, also, as 
in the days of the heathen at Athens, 
Rome, and the Gauls, that some cultivated 
minds despise the gross superstitions of 
idolatry, leaving them to the ignorant and 
the simple. Thus, in all times and in our 
day, in the very bosom of the Church of 
Rome, several of her doctrines and practi- 
ces are weakened, and are laid aside by the 
higher class of society, who abandon them 
to the vulgar. But the vulgar are the peo- 
ple, and the people are humanity, and it is 
for the good of humanity that the Religion 
OF God was given to the world. If, then, 
it is now the most culpable injustice to 
leave the people in ignorance of this bless- 
ing, how shall the crime be designated by 
which the people, that is to say, again, 
mankind, are deceived by falsehoods and 
bewildered by a mass of observances, 
which, while they point them to the cross, 
divert them from Jesus ! Such were my 
reflections as I traversed the path between 
the chapel of Meinrad and " Our Lady of 
the Hermits." 

Soon the valley in which the monas- 
tery is situated opened before me, and I 
saw, rising in the midst of it, the borough 
of Einsiedlen, overlooked by the church 
and the numerous buildings of the abbey, 
and surrounded by oratories, shrines, and 
chapels, which border the roads on all 
sides. It was the day before one of the 
festivals of the Virgin. Already thousands 
of her worshipers, whose number increas- 
ed every moment, were assembled before 
her image, which was exposed to their ven- 
eration in a chapel of the abbey. This 
image is supernatural, as 1 was informed 
by the "Authentic and Faithful History 
of Einseidlen," which was sold for a few 
cents, together with legends, small stat- 
ues, and pictures of the Virgin, crucifixes, 
rosaries, articles of clothing, and many 
other things which had been blessed, in the 
stores and numerous stalls, which are 
hardly sufficient for the avidity of the pil- 
grims. " This portrait," the history says, 
"was sent from heaven by the Blessed. 
Virgin herself, who appeared to the Bish- 
op of Constance in the tenth century, 
when he was about to consecrate the 
church and monastery, which the Virgin 
had already consecrated.^''* " Then the Lord 
Jesus descended from heaven, and celebra- 
ted in person the first mass m that church, 
assisted by St. Stephen the Martyr, and 
St. James. A bull of Pope Leo VIII. con- 
firmed all these miracles,! and thenceforth 
numberless miracles, glorious apparitions 
of the Virgin and of several saints, have 



* Hartm., Ann. Einsiedl., p. 54. 
t Hist, of the Kef. of the Sixteenth Century, vol. 
ii., p. 398. 

L 



increased the holiness of this place, where 
the divine image of the Mother of God, the 
Queen of Angels, has effected the most 
unheard-of cures ; and where the Virgin, 
the angels, and the saints, have procured, 
by their sovereign intercessions or effica- 
cy, the fullest absolution of every sin of 
all the devout pilgrims who go there." 

The adoration of the multitude was at 
the highest pitch, kneehng before the 
Chapel of the Virgin, on the extensive 
square in front of it ; the whole concourse 
looked to the image, kissing their hands to 
it, addressing to it their songs and prayers, 
and rendering it the most humble and de- 
vout worship. The great and living God 
was never adored in His temple at Jeru- 
salem with more solemnity and submis- 
sion, and His priests. His Levites, and His 
singers, never served Him with more pomp 
and reverence, than did the priests of this 
picture, in praising it, doing homage to it, 
and celebrating it before the attentive 
throng. And that idol (for was it any 
thing else ?) was not the only one. The 
statues and pictures of the angels and 
saints were every where mingled with 
those of the Lord Jesus, in the church and 
its chapels, on the square of the borough, 
in its streets, by the road-side, in all the 
houses, and in every room ; and every 
where men, women, and children saluted 
them, prostrated themselves, knelt down, 
recited short prayers, or sang litanies. 

My soul suff"ered more than I can ex- 
press ; and more than once I wept with 
grief. In vain I endeavored to excuse 
such devotions, with the thought that this 
homage was merely an honor given, not a 
worship,* and that even this honor reverts, 
in the end, to God.f This excuse vanished 
always before the idolatry of the multi- 
tude, when, by conversation with divers 
classes of the pilgrims, and with those, 
also, who taught them and preached to 
them, I had well understood both the doc- 
trine of the Church of Rome on that point, 
and the intentions and sentiments of the 
worshipers wh<?iii I saw personally. The 
latter generally told me that "they be- 
lieved in iheir hearts that they were seen 
and heard by the Virgin Mary and the 
saints, as well as by the angels ; that they 
were sure that the Virgin is almighty in 
heaven and on earth ; that she has supreme 
authority with God, even above the Son ; 
that it is she alone who dispenses the 
blessings of salvation, and that nothing is 
impossible with her; that she particularly 
loves those who serve her ; that she keeps 
and protects them, that she cures and con- 
soles them, and that she obtains for them 
all pardon from God, exemption from pur- 
gatory, and eternaL dwelling in paradise." 



* Abridg. of Catech., etc., p. 33. 
t De la Hogue, Tract, de Myst. S. S. Trin., 
p. 233 (1822). 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



I asked them if they believed that her im- 
age was any thing else than a dead and 
worthless piece of wood ; they replied, ex- 
claiming, on the contrary, that " this image 
is heavenly and living, though that does 
not appear to the eyes ;" that it is like the 
host, in which God exists bodily and liv- 
ing, though one does not perceive it ; that 
it had been seen more than once moving 
its eyes and smiling ;* and even that a 
holy aged man, whom they named, had 
distinctly heard it speak. Is it, then, I 
asked those Christians, indeed that image 
which you invoke ] Is it truly before it 
that you bow? And is it really from it 
that you expect cures and deliverances 1 
And each replied that such was his belief 
and his firmest hope ! ! 

I have already said that the priests, 
generally, are more considerate, but some 
of them go as far as the people. " It is 
true," said one of them to me, " that we 
invoke the Holy Virgin, the angels, and 
saints, but it is to obtain through their in- 
tercession, and by their merits, the favors 
and aid which we need, and thus to place 
ourselves under their powerful protection. 
And why should we not do so, as the 
Blessed Virgin is the Queen of Heaven, 
as the angels continually contemplate the 
face of God, and the saints, also, enjoy the 
beatific vision \ Is it not also reasonable," 
he continued, " as well as honorable to 
God, that we should draw nigh to those 
friends of God ; to the Holy Virgin, who 
is the blessed and beneficent mother of the 
Saviour ; to the saints, who have served 
Him on earth, and the angels, who serve 
Him in heaven ; that they may intercede 
for us with God himself, who is the sover- 
eign monarch of us all 1 What more beau- 
tiful as well as favorable order of things 
for feeble, sinful, and timid man, could be 
conceived \ And do not think," he added, 
" that by this we forget that Jesus Christ 
is our only Medrdior. He is our Mediator 
for redemption, whi^e the Virgin and the 
saints are only mediator's for intercession ;j 
and when the saints obta'm from God for 
us, by their prayers, either favors or as- 
sistance, it is only because they are sus- 
tained by the perfect and infinite merits 
of Jesus Christ."^ 

Thus spake this priest ; but I heard 
something quite different the next day in 
the church. The temple, which is very 
large, and the square near it, were filled 
with an innumerable concourse. The ser- 
vice of the Virgin was first performed with 



* In 1835, one of the Madonnas at Rome was seen 
to move her eyes ! (Pop. at Rome.) 

t Abridg. of Catech., etc., p. 47. 

t Cone. Trid., sess. xxv., De Invoc. Sanct. Catech. 
Cone. Trid., pars ill. De Cultu et Lwoc. Sanct., () 16, 
et seq. Bellarm., De Cvltu Sanctor., totus liber. 
Idem., De Sanct. Beatitud., lib. i., c. 19. Abr. of Cat., 
etc., lesson 29. 



the most pompous ceremonies of worship> 
and the highest praises. When this was 
ended, a priest entered the pulpit, and with, 
equal zeal and fluency pronounced an en- 
comium on the Virgin. I cannot repeat his 
discourse verbatim, but its substance is 
pretty faithfully reported in the following, 
language.* 

DISCOURSE OF A ROMISH PRIEST. 

" What will become of the soul that does 
not recognize the divine, adorable, and al- 
mighty majesty of the most holy and 
blessed Virgin 1 Where will that soul re- 
sort for salvation, if it thus turns from the 
Queen of Heaven, from her whose name is 
above every other name, who is the medi- 
atrix of all salvation ; the eternal principle 
of life and happiness, and on whom the 
whole universe, angels and men, fix their 
looks and their adoration ^f Is it not in 
her that God has revealed the glory of 
His power and mercy, and has placed all 
the treasures of His love ?| Believers ! 
contemplate them with me, and possess 
them for yourselves. 

" 1 first see her at the origin of the 
world, as predicted by Adam, who, having 
this incomparable woman in view, gave 
his companion the name of Eve, that is to 
say, living, and who, by that word alone, 
then designated that Mary who, in the 
truest sense, is the blessed mother of all the 
living. I next see her proclaimed by the 
Lord Himself, when He said to the ser- 
pent, that by her his head would be crush- 
ed ; so that as the sin of the woman 
caused the ruin of the human race, it 
should be woman also, it should be Mary, 
who should repair that ruin, aud substi- 
tute salvation in its place. ^ By what 
miracles, also, was she attended when she 
appeared in the world ! She was above 
mankind, and therefore was not born like 
them. Her conception was immaculate. 
The angel Gabriel appeared ta her mother, 
and choirs of angels rejoiced in heaven. |[ 
At her birth, which was without suflfering, 
the brightness of the sun was twofold, the 
moon was as brilliant as the sun, angels 
descended in crowds around her cradle, 
and the heavenly child even then delighted 
in their concert.^ From that blessed day,, 
also, that divine birth was celebrated every 
year in heaven by the blessed and holy 
a.ngels ; and on earth, also, excommunica- 
tion and secular punishments have struck 

*■ The reader can verify the assertions of this dis- 
course, in the quotations below. 

t The Jesuit Poire, The Triple Crown of the Vir- 
gin Mary, quoted by the Evang. Prosel., part ii., sect. 
130, p. 12, and foil. J The Triple Crown, etc. 

(J La sacra Biblia, etc. Gen., ill., 15, 20 (Firenze, 
1835). 

II Bernard de Bustis, Serm. 3, De Nativit. Mar. 
Basn., xviii., ch. xi. 

f (Ibid.) Pelbart de Themeswart., Stellar., lib. 
v., p. 1 and 3 (Basn.). 



DISCOURSE OF A ROMISH PRIEST. 



85 



those profane ones who have denied its 
heavenly nature.* I then witness ^er as- 
sumption. She died, I acknowledge, though 
sin had no existence in her. But, forty- 
days after, she rose from the dead, and on 
the 15th of the month of August, the angels 
took her in triumph to heaven, her dwell- 
ing and her throne. f Who is she that 
rises, I exclaim with the ancient Church ; 
who goes up like the dawn, as beautiful 
as the moon, as chaste as the sun, as ter- 
rible as an army drawn up in battle 1% 
Ah ! it is to-day the garden of Eden re- 
ceives the animated paradise of the new 
Adam, that mother of the living God, but 
yet a virgin ; that temple of the Word, yet 
incorruptible I§ What do I say ] Is it 
not a goddess whom heaven receives ? 
Does not the holy father, Leo X., call 
her soil! And what is she about to do 
in heaven ? I ask. Another Esther, she 
will receive of God the half of the kingdom 
of the universe, as the most learned doc- 
tors have declared ;^ and it is also that the 
celestial court may adore and obey her as 
she who, by her works, is worthy of all 
the glory acquired for her eternally !** Let 
her, then, no more be praised (as when she 
was still here below) for what God has 
done for her, but let her be praised and 
worshiped for all she has done for God.ff 
Or, rather, her glory is above . all glory, 
and there is none but God, who alone is 
above her, who can adequately pronounce 
her encomium. U Humble thyself, then, 
in her presence, thou church that adores 
her! Humble thyself, O world; humWe 
yourselves, heaven and earth ; abase your- 
selves before Mary ! Do you not spe her 
exalted above kingdoms, which she directs 
and governs? Do not kings themselves 
acknowledge it ? Did not Louis XHL say, 
/ will not reign unless Thou reignest ?^^ Do 
you not see her doing whatsoever she 
pleases in heaven and on earth ; perform- 
ing the most surprisi«g miracles, over- 
throwing armies, deliv^ering cities, scatter- 
ing the plague, averting famine, striking 
her enemies witJi death, hearing ail pray- 



* This happened to John de Moncon, a Dominican 
friar. Maimt., Hist, of the Schism of the West, vol. 
i., book iii.. p. 236, A.D. 1387 (Id.). 

t Basp., book xviii., ch. xi., () 5, 6, and foil. 

X Ran. Brev., ad laudesfest. Aug., p. 987. 

\ Brev. Rom., lect. iv., 15. Aug., p. 984 ; lect. v., 
p. 9S5 and 987. 

/( Card. Bembo, lib. viii., ep. 17 (P. E.). 

^ Gab. Biel, in Can. Mi.ts., lect. 80, Confugimus, 
etc. The Jesuit Barradas, Cone. Evang., t. i., lib. vi., 
c.ll. 

** Father Cheminais, Serm., vol. ii., p. 142, etc. 

tt Father d'Orleans, Serm., vol. ii., p. 62, 97, 99, 
Paris, 1696. 

XX Cardin. Bona, De div. Psal., c. xii., () 1 (Basn.). 

^^ Represented in the procession of the Jesuits of 
the Luxembourg, in 1685 (Basn.). The reader may 
remember that in Spain, Don Carlos put himself and 
his army under the Virgin^s sovereign protection, and 
ordered the standards to be lowered before her 
image ! 



ers, manifesting herself to her worshipers ; 
in a word, descending from heaven with 
her most holy Son in this very place ; yes, 
ye faithful, on this very spot where I am 
speaking, and where she deigns to receive 
you, placing her sublime and living image 
here, and making this forever her abode, 
and the seat of all the efficacy of her im- 
perishable gifts and blessings !* What 
assurance of pardon, also, have you in her I 
If even the spirits of the damned pray to 
her from the depths of hell, to deliver 
them, what may you not obtain from her 
mercy 1 Ah ! believe me, had the ' foohsh 
virgins,' instead of addressing the Son^ 
spoken to His Mother, the door would cer- 
tainly have been opened to them,t for she 
would have obtained it from her Son by 
the maternal right she possesses. J You 
are happy, then, believers, in paying to her 
your homage. If that of Latvia belongs to 
God, to the Virgin you owe that of hyper- 
dulia ; yes, absolute adoration by the sub- 
mission of your hearts, which you should 
humble in her presence ; you cannot too 
unreservedly devote to her all your love^ 
zeal, and obedience.^ Happy, also, are 
you in approaching her holy rehcs, her 
veil, her comb, her spindle, her shoe, her 
ring, her miik!|| Happy are you, if her 
image is dear to you, and if you thus daily 
pay your homage to her on whom we 
build our firmest hopes ; what do I say T in 
whom alone is our whole confidence for 
this world and for eternal felicity ! !"«^ 

These were, in substance, the terms in 
which the preacher expressed himself. 
The people who heard him seemed rapt 
in admiration, and the remainder of the 
day was spent by the multitude in proces- 
sions, worship of the angels and saints, in 
mutual congratulations on the result of 
their pilgrimage, and the full pardon which 
would be derived from it, and which they 
would, on their return, impart to their rel- 
atives and friends, who had not been able 
to visit the image except in spirit and in- 
tention. Then, reader, the anguish of my 
soul was intense. I wept before the Lord 
Jesus, whom I had seen despised and tram- 
pled on by such excesses ; I mourned over 
the slavery in which I saw this poor peo- 
ple held captive by Satan, and I thought of 
former days, those days when the faithful 
testimony of Zwingle was heard in these' 
very places. This last reflection deeply 
affected me, and it seemed as if the attract- 
ive and powerful voice of that Christian, 
that MINISTER OF THE TRUTH, asccuded anew 
on that spot, before that idol, where it had 



* Brev. Rom., laud, f est. Aug. Father d'Orleans, 
Serm., vol. ii., p. 88. 

t Card. Bona, De div. Psalm., p. 307> 6; xii.,^ 1. 
Father Crasset, tr. i., p. 100 (Basn.). 

X Brev. Paris., Pars verna, Hymn,: Virgo, Virgi- 
num, etc. Id., Hymn, Ave Marie stetJa.,. etc. 

§ Trip. Cour. (P. E.). II Ibid.. 

f Gregor. XVL, Encycl, 1832. 



84 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



SO often been lieard in times past, and that, 
filling tlic valley with its accents of truth, 
it called the multitude to listen, and replied 
to the preacher they had just heard in the 
following tenns. 

DISCOURSE OF A REFORMER. 

" ' Thou fool !' I would say to thee with 
St. Paul, ' who hath bewitched thee,* that 
thou shouldst thus put the jiesh in the 
place of the Spirit,'* and thy own folly and 
darkness above the light and w^isdom of 
Almighty God 1 I observe thy complacen- 
cy in that inscription over the entrance to 
this temple — here is found full remission 
FOR ALL SINS— and thou wouldst persuade 
this ignorant multitude, whose souls thou 
art destroying, that it is here alone, in this 
temple built by men, that the God of mer- 
cy is to be found. But, rash and earthly- 
minded being, knowest thou not that wher- 
ever souls exist, there God is present with 
them, as well as m this place If Is it in 
one place rather than another, that He who 
created the heavens and the earth draws 
near to the heart that seeks himl Dost 
thou, another Samaritan, suppose that here 
alone men must worship, ' because thy fa- 
thers worshiped here before tV\ee VX Of 
what profit is such antiquity, which flatters 
pride, if it is mere superstition and false- 
hood 1^ Or, perchance, art thou so ignorant 
of the covenant of salvation, and the val- 
ue of the blood of the Son of God, that thou 
hast ' counted that blood an unholy thing,'! 
preferring or adding to it the merits of the 
creature, or in associating with the work 
of the Saviour that of the Virgin, the an- 
gels, and saints "? Soul — still ignorant of 
the gift of God ! can empty works, long 
pilgrimages, off'erings, images, a multitude 
of prayers, or the decking of the body, ob- 
tain the grace of God 1 Does He not look 
at the heart 1 and is not Christ, who offer- 
ed Himself once on the cross, the sacrifice 
and the victim, which satisfies forever for 
the sins of all believers 1^ Thou speakest 
of the immaculate conception** of the Virgin, 
her resurrection, her assumption to heaven, 
her power and intercession, to which thou 
joinest that of the saints and angels, whom 
thou wouldst have worshiped, honored, 
and invoked also ! But why didst thou not 
read the Holy Scriptures, or even the au- 
thentic history of the Church of God, before 
proclaiming these superstitions, these fla- 
grant idolatries 1 Hadst thou done so, thou 
wouldst have seen that the Fathers reject 
with horror this system of adoration or 
worship, and whatsoever kind of religious 



* Gal., iii., 1. 

t Discourse of Zwingle {Hist, of the Ref. of the 
Sixteenth Cent., ii., 403). t John, iy., 20. 

(J Conformity of Mod. Cerem. with Anc, ch. xii. 
II Hobr., X., 29 % Zwingle, Oper., i., p. 263. 

* * See, on the perpetual Virginity of the Saviour's 
Mother. Bost : Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures on the 
Worship of Mary, Paris, 1835. 



homage is given to the creature. ' Every 
figure and statue,' Tertullian would have 
told thee, and also Clement of Alexandria, 
' should be called an idol, a mere base and 
profane thing. Wherefore, to eradicate 
idolatry, God has prohibited in His worship 
all images and every resemblance to things 
in heaven and earth, and forbade their be- 
ing made. And, therefore, we Christians 
have none of these material representa- 
tions ; God, and God alone, is our intel- 
lectual image.' * ' What men of sober 
sense,' Origen would have said to thee, 
' would not laugh at one who, to excite his 
devotion, should turn toward a statue 1 
Shall not the Christian, as well as the Jew, 
keep the commandment of God, which for- 
bids him to make either' altars or images ; 
and shall he not understand that that which 
he should consecrate to the Lord, is the 
resemblance to " the first-born of all crea- 
tion," which the Spirit of God forms in the 
soul of every believer T ' Even the most 
ignorant Christian abhors such a practice, 
although he may be told that the image is 
onhj a symbol.^] Cyprian, likewise, would 
have exclaimed to thee, ' What hast thou 
to do with bowing down thyself before 
images ■? Raise thine eyes and thy heart 
to heaven ; it is there thou shouldst seek 
God !'J A council, also, as early as the 
third century, would have unanimously 
forbidden thee to have any painting in a 
church, ' lest,' it would have told thee, ' He 
who ought to be worshiped be represent- 
ed on the walls ;'§ ' for it is the Serpent,' 
another witness would have affirmed, ' who 
publishes this falsehood, that we honor the 
mvisiU.e God hy visible pictures.'' Lactantius 
would have asked thee, ' What religion can 
there be m an image T It is in divine things 
alone that devotion exists, because they 
are spiritual. What can there be that is 
heavenly in an Image made only of earth V\\ 
Again, Eusebius vould have spoken to thee 
of the ' imprudence of those Gentile con- 
verts to Christianity, who had made ima- 
ges of Paul, of Peter, or even of Jesus.'t 
Athanasius would have forcibly said to 
thee, that ' the invocation of idols is crim- 
inal ; and that which is wrong in principle 
can never, under any circumstances, be 
right in practice.'** Ambrose would have 
added, that ' the Church admits no ioolish 
imagination nor false representation, but 
only the true substance of the Trinity .'ff 



* Tertul., De Idolol, iv. Clem. Alex., Adm. ad 
Gent. Id., Strom., Vlii., wart Kai avra uv eiv a-pya koI 
iXcKci Koi^e^tiKa. — Noijrov Se to ayaXixdianv 6 Oeoj, 6 //di'oj 
6VTWf Gm's (D. R.). 

t Orig., Cont. Cels., lib. vi., vii., and vlii. 

i Cyprian, ad Demet., p. 191 (Oxonii, 1682, R. C). 

^ Cone. Eliberit. in Hisp., Ann. 300, c. 36. Clem, 
Recogn.., lib. v., ^ 23 (D R.). 

II Lact., De orig. err., lib. ii., L 

% Euseb., Hist. EccL, vlii., 18. 

** Athan., Orat. cont. gent. (1629). 

ft Ambr., Defuga scec, t. i. 



DISCOURSE OF A REFORMER. 



85 



And, priest of Rome, if this would not 
have sufficed, thou couldst have read in 
one of the letters of Epiphanes the follow- 
ing story, which Jerome has preserved, 
and, consequently, approved : ' In a certain 
place of the country which I visited, I 
found suspended at the door of the church 
a veil, on which the picture of Christ, or 
of some saint (I do not certainly remem- 
ber which), was painted. Now when I 
saw that, in contempt of the Holy Scrip- 
tures, the picture of a man was hung up 
in the Church of Christ, I cut down the 
veil, advising the keeper of the place to 
use it rather for the burial of some poor 
person.'* 

" This is what thou wouldst have learn- 
ed from the Fathers, hadst thou listened to 
them. And, especially, if, in accordance 
with duty and with the title oi priest, which 
thou bearest, thou hadst feared God and 
made the Bible thy study, thou wouldst 
have known (and may the Holy Spirit 
cause thee to believe it !) that the Word of 
God curses the least degree of religious 
honor addressed by one man to another, 
rather than to God alone, notwithstanding 
his intention thus to offer it to God. It 
tells thee, ' Thou shalt worship the Lord 
thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.' 
'Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and 
serve him, and shalt swear by his name.'f 
' I am the Lord' (says God to thee), ' and 
my glory will I not give to another, neither 
my praise to graven images.' ' Thou 
shalt not turn to an idol, but thou shalt 
destroy the altars and break the images. 'J 
This is what God has spoken ; this is what 
thou shouldst believe and do. I know 
thou wilt answer, with Pope Gregory, that 
'these images are the book of the ignorant, 
and that he who cannot read the Scrip- 
tures, is thereby taught at least through 
the eyes.' But, 1 ask, why, if this prac- 
tice is really good, and in accordance with 
the will of God, was it unknown to the 
whole Church in the apostolical ages ? 
Had the Church in those days not yet re- 
ceived ' that Spirit which should lead her 
into all truth f Moreover, why, in those 
same times, so near to the apostles, does 
one of the Fathers, whom thou hast can- 
onized and called a saint, namely, Clem- 
ent of Alexandria, say, that ' a visible rep- 
resentation degrades the majesty of the 
divine nature ; and to pretend to serve a 
spiritual essence by substituting for it a 
material picture, is but to debase it by mak- 
ing it pass through the senses V^ Dost 
thou reply that these statues and pictures 
do not represent any false deities, and that 
the homage thou payest to the Virgin, the 
angels, and the saints is merely of an in- 



* Hieron., Oper., t. ii., Epist. Epipli., ad Johan. 
t Matt., v., 10. Deut, vi., 13. 
% Is., xlii., 8, 17 Luke, xix., 4. Exod., xxxi\., 
12-17. ^ Clem. Alex., Strom., lib. v. 



ferior kind, and that thou renderest supreme 
adoration to God alone'?* I would say, 
what uncertainty of principle, and what 
contradictions are found among thy doc- 
tors, popes, and councils ! What diverse 
opinions ; and how they oppose each oth- 
er ! Some (those who least erred) see in 
these images only a simple and material 
representation, and give them ' only a cer- 
tain respect.' Others pay homage to 
them as consecrated beings, it is true, but 
it is still ' only in an inferior manner, and 
as a matter of choice.' Others, again, 
place themselves before them in devout 
reverence, and bend the knee to them. 
But, finally, what do many others oi" the 
faithful, as thou callest them ^ Even what 
they are commanded to do by that Coun- 
cil of Trent which dictated to thee what 
thou shouldst believe ; confirming the sec- 
ond Council of Nice,t by which the unre- 
stricted adoration of images, or the doc- 
trine that they possess inherent holiness,^ 
was decreed on pain of excommunication. 
It tells them, worship ! and they obey ! 

" Thou shouldst also know that the most 
respected among thy doctors, such as Bel- 
larmine, Aquinas, Tannerus, Gregory of 
Valencia, Azorius, and, finally, thy own 
Missal, teach, unhesitatingly, that 'the 
image should not only be revered and 
served, but it should be worshiped, that it 
should receive the same honor that is 
paid to its original ; that thus that of Christ 
should be adored with the worship of latria, 
that of the Virgin with that of hyperdulia^ 
and those of the saints with that of dulia.^^ 
And here, Romish priest, I challenge thee, 
and demand of thee, to show me, in the 
Holy Bible, these different kinds of wor- 
ship. I see, it is true, among the pagans 
of ancient Rome, two or three different 
degrees, according to the superiority or in- 
feriority of the gods of those idolaters ;[( 
but where does the Book of God sanction 
this distinction and this practice ? Where 
does it admit such subtlety, which, while 
it is falsehood, yes, imposture, in the mind 
of the priest, is the snare — ah ! I should 
rather say, the ruin of the people, of the 
common man, the peasant, the villager, 
the child, whom thou seest kneeling before 
the idol, speaking to it and invoking it. 
Moreover (and be so kind as to pay atten- 
tion), does not the Scripture use this same 
word dulia, as thou callest it, to denote the 
sovereign worship due to the Lord 1 Dost 



* Cat. Cone. Trid., p. iii., 16. Bossuet, Expos. 
of the doct., etc., art. iv. Bellarrn , De Sanct. Beat., 
i., 12. t Cat. Cone. Trid., p. iii., a. 39. 

X Leo, epise. Chaleed., in 2 Cone iS'lcam., art. 2 
and 4. 

ij Bellarrn., De Imag. Sane, ii., 20. Aquin., Sum. 
TheoL, p. iii., qussst. 25, art. 3. Tanner., Disp. 5, 
in 2 part. Thom. Valenc., De Idol., lib. i., 5 ; lib. ii., 
24. Azor., Instit., c. vi., a. 3 et 6. (Id. of the Rom. 
Ch., p. 178.) Miss. Rom., p. 198. (Colon. Agrip., 
1649.) 

II Mars. Ficinus, in arg.,]ih. i. et lib. viii., De Lege, 



86 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



thou not sec it in numerous passages,* 
and canst thou not perceive, also, that this 
is what compelled one of these earliest 
doctors, whom thy Church venerates, to 
acknowledge that 'this double kind of wor- 
ship,' of which thou speakest, ' has no sup- 
port in the Scriptures ;'t and another, no 
less esteemed, to confess that 'this dis- 
tinction was entirely unknown to the Apos- 
tolical Fathers VX Abandon it, then, with 
them, for it is not in the Book of God. 
What is therein contained only condemns 
thee. I there behold two things which 
contradict thee : the one is the prohibition 
against adding to or diminishing from the 
words of the Lord ;§ the other is a precept 
which expressly curses the worship of im- 
ages. Listen to it. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CONCEALMENT OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT 
BY THE CHURCH OF ROME. 

" The Lord has himself said, ' Thou shalt 
not make unto thee any graven image, or 
any likeness of any thing that is in heaven 
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or 
that is in the water under the earth ; thou 
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor 
serve them ; for I, the Lord thy God, am 
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the 
fathers upon the children, unto the third 
and fourth generation of them that hate 
me, and showing mercy unto thousands 
of them that love me and keep my com- 
mandments.'ll 

" Priest of the Church of Rome, answer 
me : what hast thou done with this com- 
mandment ] 1 find it neither in the cate- 
chism for the people, nor in the teachings 
of the Church. The child who learns thy 
catechism has not even an idea of it ; he 
does not know that God pronounced it. Is 
he asked. What is the second command- 
ment 1 he answers by repeating the third. 
Thou sayest, it is true, that ' it is in con- 
sideration of his age that this long com- 
mandment, which would fatigue his mem- 
ory, is taken away from his elementary 
catechism.'^ Cunning one! Has God 
less compassion for little children than 
thou pretendest to have, when he orders 
his commandments to be read to them, and 
to be studied by them daily 1** Yes, artful 
one ! I repeat, for well dost thou know, that 
with thee, neither children nor youth hear 
or know that commandment ; and the adult 
and aged are so ignorant of it as not even 



* The Septuagint translate the Hebrew -j^m 

sometimes by XaTfcvuv, and at others by 6ov}^ev£iv. In 
1 Thess., i., 9, and in Matt., vi., 24, SovXevuv is applied 
to (he living God- 

t Bellarm., De Beatit. Sanct., \\h. i., c. 12. 

X Vasquez, Disp. xciii., in iii. part, c. 1. 

() Deut.,xii., 32. || Exodus, rs. 

IF Hall, Lnvth. Disc, 1835, p. 26. 

** Deut., vi., 6, 7, 8. Ps. Ixxviii., 5-8. 



to imagine their crime when they bow 
down before an image and recite prayers 
to it. No ; thou sayest nothing respecting 
it in thy discourses nor in thy visits, and 
if thy books speak of it, it is as if in pass- 
ing, and as an appendage, at present use- 
less, to the^r^^ commandment,* and which 
does not contain another precept. Or, by 
an unheard-of interpretation, thou declar- 
est that the threatening which terminates 
the second commandment, is a clause 
which is connected with each of the ten If 

" 1 know thou wilt reply, that still thy 
Church has the Ten Commandments. But, 
in the first place, what shall I call that al- 
teration of the seventh (which thou callest 
the sixth), which forbids adultery, J and 
which thou makest to forbid only luxury 1^ 
Then, what shall I say of that division of the 
tenth into two, the one specifying the covet- 
ing a neighbor's ivife, the other the coveting 
his goods .?H Hadst thou read the Scriptures, 
thou wouldst have learned that God gave 
the tenth commandment in these terms : 
' Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's 
house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's 
wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid- 
servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any 
thing that is thy neighbour's.'^ Thou 
wouldst have known, then, that ' thy neigh- 
bour's wife, man-servant, maid- servant,' 
&c,, are his house, that is to say, his goods ; 
and that it is, therefore, by an arrogance 
and artifice, which God alone shall judge, 
that thou hast changed the order of the 
words of the Lawgiver, and hast separa- 
ted what He has united. Ah, it was be- 
cause one abyss leads to another ; because 
it was necessary, in order to the introduc- 
tion of idols and images into thy Church, 
that the commandment which proscribes 
and curses their use should first be re- 
moved ; and this work was accomplished 
by a hand which I dare not characterize ! 

" But the Word of God is no less decisive, 
though thou hast mutilated a portion of it, 
though thou pleadest against it, and though, 
in showing the idol which the workman 
made with his rule and compasses, as the 
prophet says, or which he formed with the 
hammer, and then painted or gilded, thou 
dost say. Here is such a saint, here is the 
Virgin, here is Jesus, here is the Holy Spirit^ 
and even, here is the Eternal Father I that 
Word of God still proclaims, ' Wo, wo 
to the idolater ! thine image is only a 
teacher of lies !'** If, notwithstanding, 



* Catech. Cone Trid., pars iii., c. 2, § 32. 
t Id., pars iii., c. 2, ^ 40. Appendix ad singula 
praecepta. 
t The Hebrew has rixjr) xV '^^® Septuagint, 

Oil fioixtvaeii. The Gospel, Ov noixcvaus. (Ex., XX., 
14. Matt., v., 27.) 

(j Abridg. of Catechism, etc., as taught at Geneva in 
the Romish Church, p. 29. 

II Ibid., p. 30. f Ex., XX., 17. 

** Deut., iv., 15, 22. Is., xl, 18; xli., 7; xlv., 9. 
Hab., ii., 18, 19. 



HER IDOLATRY. 



87 



t) Oil repliest that the Virgin Mary, the an- 
g ^Is, and the saints, are worthy of being 
honored — that the Virgin, especially, is 
highly exalted above all creatures, and 
that by serving her we serve God by her — 
I ask again, how thou knowest this? I 
learn trom the Scriptures, that ' all gener- 
ations shall call her blessed,'* and I also 
regard her as the most honored among 
women. But had she been sinless, as 
thou sayest, why did she speak of Atr Sav- 
iour,j and why did Jesus reprove her as 
having committed a fault ?| And so far 
was the Apostolical Church from admit- 
ting that immaculate conception of the Vir- 
gin, as thou callest it, that I hear it, during 
eleven hundred years, repeating, every 
where, the words of Epiphanes, ' Honor 
Mary and worship God. Mary is not God ; 
\ her body did not come down from heaven, 
-' ^but sprung from human generation ;'§ and 
; it was only in the twelfth century that this 
festival arose ; and even then the Abbe of 
Clairvaux expressed his indignation against 
•such a doctrine, ' which is,' he says, ' nei- 
ther known as a custom of the Church, 
nor approved by reason, nor yet recom- 
mended by the tradition of the elders. 
Honor the Virgin,' continues that sincere 
man, ' but do it judiciously. Her concep- 
tion was by the Holy Spirit, but she was 
not thus conceived herself. She was a 
virgin when her child was born ; but her 
mother was not one when she brought her 
forth. How, then, would you call holy a 
conception which was not by the Holy 
Spirit, not to say that it was in sin ] That 
blessed being would willingly do without 
that which induces men to honor sin, or 
else to introduce false holiness. '|| 

" This thou wouldst know, priest of Rome, 
hadst thou but referred to the history of 
thine own church. Thou wouldst also 
know that many doctors, and particularly 
five popes, T[ have thought and spoken like 
the Abbe of Clairvaux ; and that if, at last, 
the Council of Basle** decreed the truth of 
that fable, that council was rejected by 
many ;tt and that, finally, a popeJJ ended 



* Luke, i„ 48. 

t Luke, i.. 47 : 'HyaAX/acf to TTvevfjtd ixov km ru> 6£a5 
'ZwTtipi IXOV. In the same company which I have 
elsewhere mentioned, a physician asked me what 
positive passage I alleged against the Virgin's immacu- 
late conceptio7i. I quoted these words of Mary, My 
■ soul hath rejoiced in God my Saviour ; remarking, that 
" a sinless soul cannot even think of a Saviour." 
This reply appeared sufficient. 

t John, ii., 4. Chrysostom thought that the Moth- 
er of Jesus then committed a sin of indiscretion, or, 
perhaps, of vainglory.— (72om. inJoh., xx., t. ii., p. 132. 
Basn., p. 109L) 

^ Epiph., lib. iii., comm. 2. Id., tom. ii., hcBres., 79. 

jl Basn., book xviii., ch. IL T. C, lib. vi., ch. 8. 

^ Innocent II., Innocent III,, Honorius III., Clem- 
ent v., and Irmocent V. (T. C, ubi supra). 

** In 1439, sess. xxxvi. 

ft The Dominicans said on this occasion that the 
^Council of Basle had begotten a basilisk. 

H SixtuslV'., in 1476. 



this discussion by leaving to each liberty 
to think as he chose about it. What dost 
thou mean, then, by this festival of the 
Conception,^wYiich. is grounded on a mani- 
fest error 1 And how can one who fears 
the Lord impose falsehood upon the peo- 
ple, with the pretext of serving God 1 

" I will tell thee as much, O teacher of 
human doctrines ! on the Assumption of the 
Virgin. Search the Scriptures : it is not 
there. Ask the ecclesiastical Fathers : 
they know not what it is ; so far from this, 
they say, with Epiphanius, ' Whether the 
Virgin died a natural death, and was buried, 
her repose is honored; whether she was 
slain by the sword (according to Simeon's 
prophecy), her glory is among the martyrs, 
and her holy body is venerated,'* Final- 
ly, ask history whence came this doctrine ; 
and it will name as its source the dreams 
of a monk, and then an emperor's edict. f 
And on this thou dost rely to make the 
people credit an idolatrous fable ! Yes, a 
fable ; and one so audacious, that even thy 
church, who invented it (and whom thou 
callest infallible .'), can quote liturgies more 
ancient, at all events, than those dreams 
and that edict, by which the faithful pray 
to God for ' the refreshment of the soul 
of the holy and most glorious Mother of 
God,' as thou callest her, and ' for her rest 
in the" bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Ja- 
cob. 'J Did thy church believe, then, that 
the soul of Mary was even in heaven, when 
such petitions were daily made for her ; 
and had the angels truly transported her 
body, when thy people interceded with 
God for her repose in the bosom of the 
patriarchs 1 

" But I will say no more about these fatal 
superstitions. What especially afliicts me 
is to see thee despise Jesus and deny His 
divinity, by lowering his work to the pal- 
triness and weakness of man's work, that 
of a creature. Oh ! thou who understand- 
est not yet either the Father's grace, nor 
the Son's incarnation and the perfection 
of His work, nor the sovereign efficacy of 
the Holy Spirit ! tell me, what is the me- 
diation or intercession of any creature 
needed for, or even of all creatures, when 
it is God who saves, and God who inter- 
cedes! Has not the Holy Spirit spoken 
expressly of him who, ' in a voluntary hu- 
mility, worshipeth angels, intruding into 
those things which he hath not seen, 
vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and 
(especially) not holding the Head' of the 
Church, the Lord Jesus 1^ Thou speak- 



* Epiph. {ubi supra). 

t Charlemange, in the eighth century. 

i Memento omnium sanctorum, praecipue autem 
sanct<B gloriosissimcB Deiparm semper Virginis sanctcB 
Maries. Requiescant animae illorum omnes in sinii 
patrum nostrorum Abraham, Isaac, et Jacob. — Da il- 
lis omnibus quietem. — Renaudot, Rec. d'anc. Lit. 
(Paris, 1716),!., 26, 33, 34, 41, 42 (V. P.). 

4 Coloss., ii., 18, 19. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



est of a worldly monarch, and thou sayest 
that, ' as he is approached by ministers 
and subaltern officers, thus the Church ap- 
proaches the Father by the Son, and the 
Son by the Virgin, or by the angels or 
saints.' But why dost thou think that 
God is like sinful man, who is but igno- 
rance and feebleness 1 If that worldly 
monarch of whom thou speakest were in- 
finite, and knew the hearts of his subjects, 
would he not himself know what was 
passing within mine, and would it be neces- 
sary for him to learn it by any other intel- 
ligence than his own 1 And is it not thus, 
precisely, that thou dishonorest the Lord 
Jesus, and takest away either His omni- 
presence, His omnipotence, His omnis- 
cience, or His infinite goodness — that is to 
say, His divinity ; for is He God if He 
wants one of these attributes 1 Finally, 
what have those souls whom thou deludest, 
those poor sheep without a shepherd 
whom thou leadest to the slaughter, to do 
with the merits of the Virgin or the saints, 
supposing they had any, since the Lord 
Jesus has saved His Church, since salva- 
tion is accomplished in Him, and since 
every soul ' will be saved, even to the ut- 
termost, that cometh unto God by Him V* 
Is access to the Father, then, refused to 
the weakest and most obscure soul 1 No, 
no ! On the contrary. Scripture tells him 
that ' by Jesus he hath access with confi- 
dence to the throne of mercies. 'f Or is 
that soul held back from the Saviour, 
so that it cannot freely approach Him ] 
' Come unto me,' says the Good Shepherd, 
' all ye that labor and are heavy laden ! 
For,' an apostle adds, ' we have not a 
high-priest which cannot be touched with 
the feeling of our infirmities ; but was in 
all points tempted like as we are, yet with- 
out sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly 
unto the throne of grace, that we may ob- 
tain mercy, and find grace to help in time 
of need. 'J 

"Wherefore, I adjure thee, before the 
Lord who has heard thy words, to assem- 
ble again this multitude, to open the Bible 
before it, and, by that Word of Truth, to 
withdraw these poor souls from the nets 
of error, superstition, and idolatry, in 
which thou hast entangled them. Tell 
them, then, the truth ; that ' there is no 
mediator between them and God, save the 
Lord Jesus,' either for redemption or in- 
tercession. Oh ! thou cunning seducer ! 
whence hast thou drawn this subtle' dis- 
tinction ] Tell them that there is merit in 
Him alone, and that God only hears our 
prayers. Tell them that the worship of 
angels is condemned by Scripture ; that 
there is a second commandment, which 
forbids and curses idols and images, and 



* Heb., vii., 25. t Eph., ii., 18; ill., 12. 

t Matth., xi., 28. Heb., iv., 15, 16. 



all worship that may be paid to them-. 
Tell them that these observances are of 
paganism, grafted on the Church in times 
of darkness ;* and, above all, tell them and 
teach them that, to fear God, to own the 
Lord Jesus as God-Redeemer, and to con- 
temn no more the testimony of the Holy 
Spirit, they should repent of their criminal 
superstitions, break their idols, reject their 
vain relics, cease invoking the creature 
and the dead, and trust without reserve to 
the fullness of salvation which is in Jesus^ 
and which every poor sinner possesses 
forever by faith. Then, and then only, 
shalt thou see the life of God, by the Holy 
Spirit, supplant in those souls the vain 
and fearful devotion of slavery. Then, in- 
stead of so many useless observances, 
which always take from the worshiper the 
presence of his God, faith will take up her 
abode in his heart, and holiness with her. 
Then shall the Indian no more be able to 
justify himself by thy example, in preserv- 
ing his pagodas, and in kneeling before 
wood and stone. Then shall the Moham- 
medan call thee no' more. Christian of 
Rome, an impious enemy of God, worshiping 
many gods.\ Then, at last, shall those 
ridiculous customs end, with which thou 
encumberest thy worship ; that lustral 
water, those candles, those peculiar robes, 
those processions, festivals, oratories, pa- 
trons, altars, tablets, ringing of bells, or 
sounding of trumpets, those agni-dei, holy 
bread, rosaries, and so many other prac- 
tices, which are all those of paganism, 
' which never came into God's heart,';^ 
which are contrary to the Bible, and which 
turn away from Jesus the carnal heart, 
which they amuse, bewilder, and enslave 
to Satan." 

Ah ! reader, how much I wished that 
these words had really been pronounced 
by another priest of Einsiedlen, a second 
Zwingle, in the abbey, and on the public 
square, and for several days ! My feeble 
voice, it is true, spoke a few words here 
and there, and perhaps a few souls were 
attenti'^e ; but what were they among so 
many woes ! What eff'ulgence of light is 
required to dissipate such profound dark- 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CONFESSION OF A MONK ON THE WORSHIP OF AN- 
GELS AND SAINTS.^ 

East of the Abbey of Einsiedlen, at the 
foot of one of the mountains surrounding 
it, stretches a lofty and dark forest, whith- 



* Conformity of Ceremonies, etc., c. 1. Daille, J5e- 
lief of the Fathers respecting Images, book Hi. 

f See Abd-el-Kadrr's Declaration of war to France^ 
17th Oct., 1839. t Jerem., vii., 31. 

(} This conversaticn, as well as those preceding 
and following it, is historical in its principal argu- 
ments, and in many circumstances. 



CONFESSION OF A MONK. 



89 



er solitude and silence attract those monks 
who love retirement. Toward this retreat 
I bent my steps, where I felt the need of 
" seeking the face of the Lord," and of 
imploring-, also, His compassion on the 
misled multitude which I had just left. 
My soul was grieved, and while walking, 
I repeated, with a prophet, " Israel hath 
forgotten his Maker ; he hath made many 
altars to sin, and he counteth the law of 
the Lord as a strange thing,"* when I saw, 
at some distance, a monk seated near a 
rock, and in the attitude of a man absorbed 
in thought. Books and papers were pla- 
ced beside him on the grass ; he held anoth- 
er book in his hand, and his eye was fixed 
upward. Having respect for his solitude, 
I was about to change my course, when 
he perceived me, and said, with an affable 
smile, " You are welcome, sir." I ap- 
proached, and received his hand in mine, 
while he invited me to rest myself on the 
grass beside him. 

" Is it as a pilgrim," he asked me grave- 
ly, with a sigh, " is it for the purpose of 
worshiping with the multitude that you 
visit these places V 

" I am a Protestant minister," I replied, 
" and—" 

" A Protestant minister !" he exclaimed, 
earnestly ; " that is, a disciple, a friend, a 
defender of the Bible ! Here it is," he add- 
ed, showing me the book he held ; "yes, 
here is that Word which the Lord pro- 
nounced, and which," he continued, in a 
low tone, inclining his head, " like the an- 
gel of God at the pool of Bethesda, ' came 
to trouble to the very bottom the stagnant 
waters of my poor soul.'"t 

" You read the Bible, then," I said, with 
interest, " and its truth is revealed to you V 

" Ah ! sir," he continued, in a firm and 
decided tone, and taking in his other hand 
one of the books lying on the grass, " as it 
is true that this Bible, in my right hand, is 
from heaven, is from God, just so true is it 
that this other book, the Breviary, is of 
earth, is of the liar /"J 

I expressed surprise that he should thus 
give his opinion so freely to a stranger, 
while his ecclesiastical dress and charac- 
ter contradicted such an avowal. 

" Oh !" he replied, calmly, " I have told 
it to those who ought to know it, and I shall 
no more restrain myself. No, no, this can 
last no longer. My heart is suffocated, 
and my soul is full of tears. Jesus is not 
worshiped ; He is unknown among us ! 
We are nothing but idolaters ; yes, idola- 
ters; for it must be said." 

" You speak," I said, " of this festival of 
the Virgin, and of the superstition of this 
poor people 1 Alas ! it is here as it is else- 
where. I am a stranger, and have come 
here to verify what has been told me ; and 



* Hosea, viii., 11-14. 
t Historical. 



t John, 



I see that every where the night is but 
darkness." 

" Poor, poor souls !" he exclaimed, with, 
a groan. " How dense is their darkness !. 
Ah ! sir, what an infamous traflic ! Alas ! 
I, too, acted long in it, and I thought sin- 
cerely." 

He then told me that for several years 
he had conceived doubts and dislikes od 
the important points of the doctrine of his 
church ; but that, about two years since, 
having given himself up to the study of the 
Bible, which a stranger who visited his 
monastery had given him secretly, his 
doubts had been confirmed and extended^ 
his scruples had grown into opposition,, 
and the more he compared Holy Scrip- 
ture with what he had till that time re- 
ceived and practiced, he was forced to con^- 
tradict and reject what he had once revered. 

" For instance, sir," he continued, with 
that exuberance of soul which convictionu 
gives, " there has been a great festival to- 
day in this place, and you may have seen 
all that was done throughout the day. I 
ask if any more than this is done in the 
temples and before the idols of the heath- 
en ] The black worshipers of a fetich, or 
the bronze prilgrims of the Lama, are no 
more material nor ignorant in their devo- 
tions, than the multitude which crowds to- 
gether here, to bring, with a stupid heart 
and an excited and corrupt imagination, 
their gold or their silver, which contrib- 
ute to the shameful salaries of their sedu- 
cers." 

" Do you, then," I asked the monk, " ac- 
cuse your church of idolatry, in the posi- 
tive and formal meaning of the word V 

" Ah ! sir," he replied, without hesitation^. 
" how can I refuse making this avowal 1 1 
know that church, I was born in it ; I have 
been one of its priests for more than twenty 
years past ; and— I speak in the presence 
of God, who searches my thoughts — all I 
have learned in my youth respecting an- 
gels and saints, and especially the Virgin. 
Mary ; all I have thought and practiced oa 
this subject in my childhood ; all I have 
heard and seen, and have myself taught,, 
appears in such a character, when I com- 
pare it with this holy and infallible Bible^ 
that I must say and confess, that these 
honors, homages, and services — in a word,, 
this worship — is absolutely nothing but idolr- 
atry, both in its principle, its intent, and 
its forms. I am not ignorant of all the 
efforts and subtilties which our schools 
and our doctors repeat to escape this 
judgment. I know what I have so often 
said myself on the various degrees of hon- 
or, service, and adoration; but I know, 
at the same time, that it is only by remov- 
ing the Bible, and oppressing our own con- 
sciences, that we maintain our assertions ; 
since the first curses all religious honor 
paid to a creature, and since conscience 



-90 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



repeats, that if we priests can make nice 
distinctions on the quantity of honor or 
confidence which we give to an angel or 
a saint, it is far otherwise with the com- 
mon people, the peasant, the simple vil- 
lager ; all of whom, when they contemplate 
the image, and invoke the saint, offer to 
him their ^ear^V submission, quite as much 
as they do the piece of copper which they 
bring him." 

" Yet," I remarked, " the very reasons 
of the Council of Trent are here alleged, 
in repelling the accusation of idolatry." 

" I know it," replied the monk ; " but, 
besides that council's declaration, that ' it 
is right and useful to sujjplicate the saints, 
and to resort to their prayers and assist- 
ance'* (homage which certainly belongs 
to God alone), see how much more freely 
the catechism, in which, by the order of 
Pope Pius v., the true doctrine of that 
council was recorded, expresses itself on 
the service and worship which angels and 
saints deserve. f Hear, also, the manner 
in which the doctors understand this doc- 
trine : ' Most believers,' they say, ' trust in 
the saints quite as much as in God him- 
self; they even consider them more ac- 
cessible than God, and they trust in them 
and in their merits, in the very same way 
that the Gentiles did in their divinities. 'J In 
truth, sir, if this subject be examined, what 
is found in it but entirely pagan worship V 

^ 1. THE WORSHIP OF ANGELS. 

" In the first place, as to the worship of 
angels, we say that ' there are nine orders 
'Of them, and it is blasphemy^ to deny that 
some are superior to others, and that the 
highest never leave God's presence. '|| But 
what says this Bible ? Not only is it silent 
about these nine orders, but, moreover, I 
read in it that all angels, without reserve, 
are ' ministering spirits, sent forth to min- 
ister,' under God's orders. T[ And St. Augus- 
tine (who was not of the Romish Church, I 
assure you, sir, but who certainly believ- 
ed in the Bible) says as follows : ' As to 
the difference existing between these four 
words — thrones, dominions, principalities, and 
j)owers — let those who can, explain it ; that 
is, provided they prove what they say. But 
as for me, I own that I know nothing 
about it.'** Now, whence has the Latin 
Church, in our days, learned that of which 
such a doctor confessed ignorance! Or 
how can she ascertain any better what 
she has advanced respecting Michael, prince 



* Cone. Trid., sess. xxv. 

t Catech. Cone. Trid., pars iii., eap. 16. 

j Espensaeus, in 2 Tim., iii. Vives, in Aug., De 
■Civ. Dei, Ub. viii., 7. Kiel, Expos. Can. Miss., leet. 
-30 (Turret., De Neces. Seces.). 

f) Rhem. annot. in Epk., i., sect. 4 (W.). 

II Mag. Sent., lib. ii., dist. 11. f Heb., i., 14. 

**Etquid inter, se distent, ete. August., JSncAzV., 
iviii. 



of the angels ; a dignity which she says 
Satan possessed before his fall ] She does 
not see, then, that this Archangel, whose 
name signifies ' equal with God,' is Christ 
the Lord; 'who alone,' as Augustine and 
Origen remark, 'is the supreme chief of 
principalities and powers ; as He only is 
equal with the Father.'* 

" And what shall 1 say, sir, of that guard- 
ian angel, whom we give to each believer, 
or whom we assign as the protector to 
each kingdom, each city, and especially 
each church 'If and that because, in the 
first place, the Bible speaks of ' the Angel 
of the Lord, who encamped around His 
people,' but who is the Lord Himself ; be- 
cause, secondly, it speaks of the angels of 
the children of believers as contemplating 
the face of God ; but which means that 
these children are of the Church, in favor 
of which the angels are employed ; be- 
cause, again, the Bible mentions the an- 
gel who appeared to Abraham, Jacob, Gid- 
eon, and Manoah, but who was no other 
than the Word of God, the angel be- 
fore His face ; or because, finally, the dis- 
ciples, when Peter knocked at their gate, 
said it was ' his angel ;' as if that word did 
not mean his messenger I Moreover, the 
good angels, we say, offer our prayers to 
God ; and to prove it, we adduce what is 
said of ' the angel who stood at the altar, 
having a golden censer, and much incense, 
that he should offer it with the prayers of 
all saints ;'J as if there is any other High- 
Priest (as the censer indicates) than the 
Lord Jesus in the Church of God ! ' As if 
it were not Him,' says St. Augustine, 
' whose humanity is the censer, and whose 
divinity is the altar which sanctifies our 
prayers.'^ 

" And, besides, were it as true as it is 
false, that angels are, in their orders or 
their offices, all the Church of Rome says 
they are, what relation would there be be- 
tween their dignity and the worship which 
that church pays them ; and especially, by 
what right would it give it, when this Bi- 
ble contains such words as these : ' Let no 
man beguile you of your reward, in a vol- 
untary humility and worshiping of angels, 
intruding into those things which he hath 
not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly 
mind r "II 

^ 2. the worship of saints. 

" But, sir, of what little importance is 

this worship of angels, compared to that 

which we pay to the saints ! Poor sheep, 

whom we lead to the slaughter ! I must 



♦ Rev., xii., 7-10. August., Horn, ix., in Rev. 
Grig., Horn, vi., in Jos. 

t Rhem. annot., i., Rev., sect. 9. 

i Rev., viii., 3. 

^ Rom., viii., 33. Heb., vii., 17, 25; iv., 15, 16. 
August., Ham. in Rev., vi. Qucsst. inEvang.,xxxiy. 

II Colos., ii., 18. 



CONFESSION OF A MONK. 



91 



say of this people, whom we form for idol- 
atry even from childhood, and whom we re- 
tain in it till death ! This is the serious sub- 
L ject which now most occupies my thoughts ; 
and those papers which you see are cop- 
ies of the declarations which I have col- 
lected on this point among the writings of 
-the fathers, who all agree with this holy and 
precious Bible, which is truth alone. Now, 
sir, what does the Bible tell me that a re- 
ligious service should be, that it may accord 
with the truth \ It tells me two things : 
one is, that the object of that worship must 
have the power of receiving it ; the other, 
.that the soul who gives it must owe it. 
But who can receive a religious worship, 
save the only Being who is an infinite Spir- 
it, all-good and all-powerful, and is there- 
?. fore, in all places, searching the hearts, in- 
' specting the thoughts, willing and able to 
i)less \ And why does the soul owe Him 
this worship, but because it is the crea- 
ture of this infinitely just and good Being, 
and because it depends on Him for all 
things ? What is it, then, that a soul does, 
who pays a religious worship to a created 
being, to an angel, or a saint, for instance ? 
You see, sir, that it attributes to it infinity 
and omnipresence, the searching of the 
thoughts, all wisdom and omnipotence, and 
a sovereign authority over it. That is to 
«ay, this soul equals a creature, a feeble 
and limited being, to God ; and supposes 
in him the sovereign power which belongs 
to the Lord alone ! What a crime ! what 
an idolatry, and, at the same time, what 
an absurdity ! And yet this is what every 
man does who invokes a saint or an angel ! 
" Without doubt, if this regarded only the 
•esteem and charity which the faithful serv- 
ants of God deserve from the Church, we 
would, in giving it, only obey the Bible, 
which places before us the beautiful ex- 
amples of that cloud of witnesses, as it calls 
them,* and invites us to follow them ; and 
thus, according to Augustine's expression, 
' we honor them by imitation and love, 
but not by religion.'! -But what a differ- 
ence between this edifying remembrance 
which I may have of an Abel, an Enoch, 
an Abraham, a Samuel, a St. John, a St. 
Paul, a Priscilla, or a Dorcas, and even 
the desire which I have of being followers 
of them, because they were followers of 
God and of Christ ;| what a diflference, 
1 say, between this feeling of esteem, 
this holy emulation, and invocations ad- 
dressed to men or women, and the decla- 
ration thereby made that they, like God, 
are infinite, and that I depend on them to 
be helped or blessed by Him ! For, final- 
ly, at the very moment at which the Holy 
Virgin, as you heard this morning, was 
called upon, invoked, prayed to, in these 



* Heb., xii., 2. f August., De ver. relig., 55. 

i 1 Cor., iv., 16. 1 Thess., i., 6. Heb., vi., 12. 
Eph., v., 1. 



places, in how many other countries was 
not the same done 1 That human soul 
was then recognized as present here, 
though the Bible declares that he who has 
left this world sees not and knows not 
any thing that is done under the sun.* And, 
moreover, that soul is also considered om- 
nipresent at the same time. If that were 
so, she could then, like God, say to every 
man, Whither shalt thou flee from my 
presence 1 Dol not fill heaven and earth If 
What absurdity! Ah! rather, what blas- 
phemy ! 

" And we have so strongly felt the folly 
and impossibility of this invocation of crea- 
tures, that, to give omnipresence to angels 
and saints, we have imagined three follies : 
the first, that of supposing they have per- 
petual motion, and so rapid, that they pass 
from one place to another as quickly as 
lightning ; and you can perceive how ad- 
mirably that agrees v/ith the rest promised 
us in heaven, with the contemplation of 
the face and glory of the Lord ! Another 
folly, which is the opposite of the first, 
supposes the saints to be motionless, but 
seeing in God, as in a mirror, all that pass- 
es here below. Now, as it is only by their 
intermediacy that we mortals approach 
God, it is, then, only after having seen us in 
God that they then inform God that we are 
thinking of Him. What a mockery of the 
Lord ! Finally, by the third folly, leaving 
omniscience to God, and ignorance to the 
saints, of all that is done under the sun,^ 
we teach that sometimes God, and some 
times a soul coming from this world, in 
forms the saints that such a believer in 
vokes or worships them on earth ; then 
the saints, when they pay attention to it, 
report to God what this believer expects 
or desires.^ Senseless dreams ! Extrav- 
agances of unbeheving minds! who, un- 
willing to submit to Jesus, and to trust 
in the fullness of His grace, throw them- 
selves, by a just and terrible judgment of 
the Holy Spirit, into the very darkness and 
falsehood of Satan ! And yet, sir, this in- 
iquity goes further still ; for we attribute 
the very glory of God to these saints, af- 
ter having first made them infinite like 
Him. Yes, it is that very glory of God 
which consists in His being charity, in His 
being a Saviour; in having loved the 
Church, and redeemed it with His blood ; 
it is even this which we pretend to view 
in the saints also ; for it is from their 
works also, and from their merits, that we 
profess to await the forgiveness of our 
sins, and our admission to heaven." 

Here, reader, I interrupted the monk, to 
ask him if it is certain that the Church of 
Rome relies on the saints themselves, on 



* 2 Kings, xxii., 20. Job, xiv., 20. Eccl., ix., 5, 
10. t Ps. cxxxix., 7. Jer., xxiii., 24. 

t Eccles., ix., 6. 
<j Bellarm., De beat, sand., lib. i., c. 17 et 20 (W.). 



92 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED, 



their works and merits, to obtain salva- 
tion. 

" It is true," he rephed, " that, usually, 
and by a customary conclusion, most pray- 
ers to the Virgin and the saints mention 
our Saviour's merits as giving their value 
to those of the saints ;* but often even 
this ' vain repetition' is omitted, or, rather, 
cast aside, that the glory of the saint should 
shine the brighter ! At any rate, you know, 
sir, that the Bible reproves this associa- 
tion of the creature with the Creator, 'who 
will not give His glory to them ;'t and this 
partnership, if I may so call it, of sinners 
with Him who redeemed them. ' There 
is,' says the Book of God, ' one mediator 
between God and man, one way of ac- 
cess unto the Father, one High-Priest, who 
alone can be touched with the feeling of 
our infirmities. 'J How much more, then, 
do the Holy Scriptures reprove this sep- 
arateness of merits, and even (oh ! con- 
demned iniquity !) this supremacy of dig- 
nity, which the Church of Rome attributes 
openly to the Virgin and the saints ! 

" Do not, in fact, our most approved 
doctors, such as Ales, Peter Lombard, 
Bonaventura, Thomas Aquinas, Biel, An- 
toninus, write and publish ' that the saints 
must be invoked as mediators, so that the 
abundance of their merits may make up 
for the deficiency of ours ; that they plead 
for us, not only by affection, but also by 
their dignity and suffrages ; that they have 
the right to obtain blessedness for other 
men, as they acquired it for themselves V 
etc. And if they thus speak of the saints, 
what do they think of the Virgin, when 
they say that she is the throne on which 
Jesus rests ; when they apply to her this 
passage : ' Let us go,' by her, ' boldly unto 
the throne of grace ;'^ when they pro- 
claim that she has received from the Fa- 
ther half of the universal empire, and when 
they compare, in efficacy, the milk of the 
Virgin to the Wood of Jesus "^H 

" But, sir, do I need to quote here any 
other testimony than that of the Romish 
Missal, or this Breviary, which is what the 
priest is obliged to read daily \ What 
have I myself learned from it during my 
whole life, but idolatrous prayers T Thus, 
when I have prayed to St. Paul to ' deliv- 
er me from the angel of Satan and from 
the wrath to come ;' to St. Matthew ' to 
defend me from the extreme evils which 
I have deserved;' to St. Francis or St. 
Venantius, to ' guard me from hell, and to 
open heaven to me ;'![ when I have said, 
with the whole Church, to St. Peter, 
' Good shepherd ! receive with clemency 



* Bellarm., De heat, sanct., lib. 1., 17, 18. 
t Is., xlii., 8. 

i 1 Tim., ii., 5. John, xiv., 6. Heb., x., 19, 20; 
IV., 15, 16. <J Heb., iv. 

II Manual of the true Christian, c. xxiv. 
if Miss. Rom., die 6 Decemb., 29 Jan., 18 Mali, etc. 



the prayers of those who pray to you, and 
loosen the chains of their sins !' to St. 
Paul, ' Excellent doctor ! instruct us in 
our manners, and transport us in spirit to- 
heaven!' to all the saints, 'Just judges 
and lights of the world, who open and shut 
heaven by your words, deliver us from 
sin by your commands ! take from us the 
pains and sorrows of life !'* to John the 
Baptist, ' You who, with the other apostles,, 
hold the keys of heaven, break with them 
the bonds of sin ; deliver us from the wick- 
edness of our lips ; take away our hearts 
of stone, and smooth our paths ;' tell me, 
sir, when I have prayed to those great 
saints, and to so many others of less es- 
teem, and even (shame and madness !) 
to imaginary aaints ; yes, sir, to beings 
who never existed If and when I did so in 
such terms as you have just heard, did I 
think, feel, act, or speak differently from 
the pagan, who addresses his false god 
with his whole heart ; or, was it otherwise 
than I now do, when I address the Lord 
and implore His deliverance, pleading the 
merits of the blood of Jesus] No, sir; if 
I can see at Ephesus, in the times of St. 
Paul, nothing but the grossest idolatry, as 
that to Diana, the great goddess, whose 
image had descended from Jupiter, and 
'whose majesty was every where rever- 
enced,'J I cannot possibly do otherwise 
than call idolatry what is now practiced in 
the Romish Church toward a woman, who 
is also called a goddess ; of whom it is said 
(as it is here), that her image descended from 
heaven ; whose majesty is raised above all 
other dignities and powers ; whose temples, 
chapels, oratories, and, especially, whose 
statues and pictures are multiplied and con* 
stantly increasing in number, and always 
under the most seducing figures and forms. 
And not only disapprobation, but horror and 
disgust, fill my soul at this hideous, im- 
pure, and debasing worship of the Virgin ; 
that is, of a woman, whom Satan has sub- 
stituted in the Church of Rome for the 
Saviour; and the carnal emotions pro- 
duced by it spring up, and are repeated, as 
it were, in every thought of our minds. 

" ' Star of the sea I' we say to her, pre-^ 
ferring her even to Jesus ; ' gentle Mother 
of God, empress of the universe, whom I 
love more than my soul ; great Mediatrix 
between God and men ; to whom all 
power has been given in heaven and on 
earth ; happy gate of heaven, you to 
whom all the treasure of heaven is open 
and belongs! deliver us from our woes, 
and show us that you are a mother, in 



* Comm. Sanct., Hymn., Exultet., etc. Id., Mar- 
tyr Dei. Id., Custodes hominum. Id., Jesus, Sal- 
vator Sseculi. Id , 13 Apr., Jun. 24, etc. 

+ Such as Theonestus, Castrensis, St. Petronilla,. 
St. Margaret, St. Cristoph, St. Longinus, St. Vero- 
nica, etc., etc. Melch. Can., TAeoZ., lib. xi., 16. (Idol.. 
of the Rom. Church, p. 280.) % Acts, xix., 27, 35. 



CONFESSION OF A MONK. 



93 



•obliging your Son to receive our prayers ! 
You are the only hope of sinners ; for in 
you is all the pardon of our faults ; in you, 
who have furnished the w^orld, now lost, 
with the means of recovery from its ruin ! 
Then be not cruel toward me ; make me 
to feel the passion of your Son ; and, lest 
I be consumed in the day of judgment, oh ! 
Virgin, be then my defense !' "* 

Reader, my heart was lacerated by this 
excess of idolatry, by this open contempt 
of the Son of God and of His sacrifice, and 
by this mockery of the Word and the Holy 
Spirit. I manifested it to the monk, who 
was himself cast down, as it were, beneath 
the load of the impieties he had to recite, 
and continued his sad account in these 
words : 

" Yes, sir, it is an excess of madness, 
• an excess of unbelief. Where do we see 
Jesus here 1 Where is his expiatory sac- 
rifice, and the efficacy of that blood which 
cleanses from all sin? Where is the prom- 
ise of the Father 1 Where, also, is that 
seal of the Spirit which gives the believer 
an assurance that he is a child of God, and 
that he is welcome at the throne of His 
grace 1 In a word, where is faith, where 
is the Gospel ? And yet, what is all this 
in comparison with what the poor people, 
the lower classes, receive and must be- 
lieve in their deluded church? See, for 
instance, this little book, which is an 
abridgment of the life of St. Philomena, a 
virgin and a martyr,^ published and scat- 
tered profusely in unhappy Italy. After 
having related how the body of this saint 
was found, and how many miracles her 
relics work daily, what is said respecting 
the merits and intercession of this saint ? J 

" Listen to the substance of one only of 
these facts, all of which are authentic and 
conformable to the doctrine and decrees of the 
Romish sovereign pontiffs : ' A married lady, 
a very devout servant of Philomena, fell 
sick, and after three days of agony, was 
thought to be dead. But what was the 
surprise of the persons who took care of 
her, and who had left her for a few mo- 
ments, to find her, when they returned, 
seated on her bed, and in perfect health ! 
All the household, several neighbors, and 
particularly some priests, immediately as- 
sembled near the lady, who said to them, 
with energy, " 1 come from the other 
world, and it is St. Philomena who has 
saved me. I was dead, and two demons, 
who had already chained me, were drag- 
ging me with them. Then I invoked 
Philomena. She hastened to me ; she put 
the devils to flight, untied me, and encour- 

* Brev. Rom., Parv. Offic B. V. Maria. Fest. As- 
som-p*. Fest. Sept., lect. v., etc. 

t Compendio delle memorie che riguardano Santa Filo- 
mena, iWgine e martire, etc., Torino, 1834. Her whole 
ife is in three volumes, with the pope's seal. 

X In un posse vicino a Nola, eravi, etc., p. 87, etc. 



aged me with a heavenly smile. Then, 
leading me before the divine Redeemer, 
she asked Him to let me return to the 
earth. The Lord remained motionless and 
silent. Philomena pleaded and insisted. 
There was the same refusal. She re- 
doubled her prayers ; she reminded the 
Lord that I have a family, that I support 
priests ; still she met the same refusal. 
At last Philomena exclaimed. Remember, 
my spouse, all that I have suffered for 
Thee, and consider what will become of 
my worship, and, consequently, of Thy glo- 
ry, if this lady does not return to life ! 
Then the heavenly Judge replied, with a 
smiling face, Philomena, my spouse, do 
what is agreeable to thee.* And at that 
moment I found myself on my bed, deliv- 
ered from pain." ' 

" This, sir, is what is printed with supe- 
rior approbation ; this is what is distributed 
in the schools, and what the people, what 
thousands, millions of souls, read, believe, 
and relate ! This is what is given in place 
of the Bible ! This is what Rome gives to 
miserable human beings, instead of the 
knowledge of Jesus and of His grace. 
These are the intercessors which are rais- 
ed up between unfortunate sinners about 
to die, and the just and holy God whom 
they have off'ended ! !" 

Yes ! such is the worship of this church ; 
its principal devotion, almost the only re- 
ligion which the lower classes practice. 
The angels, the saints, and the Virgin 
mingle with every thing, and that continu- 
ally. The child lisps their names on his 
mother's knee ; he murmurs prayers to 
them as he grows up ; he puts himself 
under their protection when he becomes a 
man ; he grows old invoking them, and in 
their imaginary arms he resigns his spirit, 
when his eyes close upon this world ! 

" This book, this bad, detestable book," 
said the monk, looking at the little volume 
he had just read from, " is an odious dem- 
onstration of this. Receive it from my 
hand, dear sir," he added, presenting it to 
me. " I know but too well all it contains ; 
but as for you, it may serve you, perhaps, 
when you may have to answer the wiles 
and equivocations of those who still dare to 
deny that they adore the saints and their 
relics ; and, at the same time," he contin- 
ued, feelingly, "it will recall to your mind 
that monk who, in giving it to you, declares 
that he believes the Bible, and that he has 
rejected forever the hypocrisies and the 
refuges of darkness, wherein his poor soul 
once delighted." 

I received the volume with a very pleas- 
ing, but, at the same time, a very solemn 
emotion ; and the monk resumed in these 
words : 



* Filomena, mia sposa, fa quel che vuoi, fa cid che ti 
place, p. 90. 



94 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



"Yes, I have seen all that, aiid much more 
too ; and when, on that mass of supersti- 
tions and detestable falsehoods, repeated 
hourly, I am told that ' it is from the apos- 
tles of the Lord that this has reached us, 
and that the Church has never varied, in this 
respect, in her worship or her practices,' 
ah ! I feel as if my soul were bruised, and 
I ask myself how the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, can allow this deception, which the 
testimony of the Fathers of the Church 
bring forth to the broad light of day. 

THE OPPOSITE TESTIMONY. 

" Not, sir, that I now found my belief on 
the sentiments of the Fathers, but I love 
to see that, in all ages, those who have 
believed the Bible, have always held the 
same language. Now, who are they 
among the Fathers vs^ho condemn the in- 
vocation of saints ? They are the most 
venerated. Let us listen : 

" It is Si. Clement Romanus, the same 
whom we pretend was the first successor 
of St. Peter, who tells me, ' It is not al- 
lowed to approach God Almighty but by 
Christ alone.'* It is St. Ignatius, the dis- 
ciple of St. John, who wishes us to have 
' before our eyes and in our prayers, Jesus 
Christ only, with His Father.' It is St. 
Polycarp, also a disciple of the same apos- 
tle, whose last words at the stake were 
these : ' I praise and bless Thee, O Father ! 
and I glorify thee by Jesus Christ, Thy 
dear Son, the great High-Priest, by whom 
be rendered unto Thee, with Him and the 
Holy Spirit, glory now and forever !'t It 
was, however, the moment when, if the 
saints were then invoked, he should have 
recommended himself to their merits, and, 
at the very least, to those of St. John, his 
master. And what Polycarp did in 166, 
St. Cyprian did again in the following cen- 
tury ; it was God alone, it was Jesus 
Christ and the Holy Spirit whom that mar- 
tyr invoked when dying, and no saint was 
then named. 

" How many other witnesses join these 
first believers ! St. Irenaus: ' The Church 
does nothing for the invocation of angels ; 
neither by enchantments, nor by secret 
and guilty practices ; but with purity, 
openly, she addresses her prayers to the 
Lord, who made all things, and she invokes 
the name of Jesus Christ. 'J -S^ Origen: 
' God alone should be addressed in prayer, 
and it is by the Word made flesh, our 
High-Priest, that we should ofl'er up all our 
prayers.'^ St. Theodoret: 'Address thy 
thanksgivings to the Father, by the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and not by the angels. '|| 
St. Gregory of Nyssa : ' God has forbidden 



* Clem. Rom., Const. Apost., lib. ii, c. 32. 

t Euseb., Hist., lib. iv., c. 14. 

X Iren., lib. ii., c. 58. 

ij Orig., Coru. Cels., lib. viii. 

II Theod., in CoL iii. 



that any created being should be served 
by men. All the Holy Scriptures, Moses, 
the law, the prophets, the Gospels, and the 
apostles, forbid it to the Church.'* St. Je- 
rome: ' We neither adore nor serve either 
angel or archangel, cherubim or seraphim, 
lest we should serve the creature instead 
of the Creator, who is blessed eternally. 'f 
The Council of Laodicea decreed, in 365, 
that ' Christians must not invoke angels, 
nor assemble for their worship, which is a 
thing forbidden. If, then, any one is found 
given to this secret idolatry {! .'), let him be 
anathema.' You hear it, sir, a council 
calls the worship of angels idolatrous, and 
strikes it with anathema ; and yet, the 
Council of Trent commands it, and affirms 
that the whole Church always practiced it ! 
What unity ! 

"But I find here some further testimo- 
nies, which I will read to you ; for one 
cannot too strongly resist and contradict 
this Christian paganism. I then hear St. 
Athanasius, who tells me^ ' When Corneli- 
us bowled down before Peter, / am but a 
man, said that apostle to him. It is to 
God alone that homage belongs, as the an- 
gel also said to Manoah, Make thine off"er- 
ing to God, and not to me.'| Again, I hear 
St. Epiphanes, who reproves and censures 
the women that addressed their prayers 
and their worship to the Virgin. ' The 
saints,' he tells them, ' must not be honored 
more than is their due ; for it is the Lord 
whom we should serve. The Virgin was 
not intended for our adoration, as she 
adored Him who, according to the flesh, 
was born of her. Let no one, therefore, 
worship Mary. It is to God alone, the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that 
this mystery belongs, but to no man or 
woman whatsoever ; the very angels are 
not worthy of such glory. Thus, then, 
let certain weak women trouble the Church 
no more, nor say. We honor the Queen of 
Heaven ; for, saying thus, and offering her 
their cakes, they accomplish what was 
prophesied, that some will depart from the 
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and 
doctrines of devils.^ No, this error of the 
ancient people will not prevail over us, to 
turn us from the living God, to adore crea- 
tures ; for if an angel refused being wor- 
shiped by John, how much more will she 
refuse it who was only the daughter of 
Anne !'|| These are triumphant testimonies, 
are they not T and yet that of St. Chrysos- 
tom surpasses them all : ' We do not need,' 
he says, ' when we approach God, media- 
tors and officers, nor any one to present 
us to Him, as is the case among the great 
of this world. He is ever near ; always in 



* Greg. Nys., Cont. Eunojn., Orat. iv. 
t Hieron., Epist. 53, ad Rip. (Man. du Chr., 322). 
t Ath., Orat. Cont. Ar., iii. ^ 1 Tim., iv., 1. 

11 Epiph., lib. iii. Comm., 2. Id., torn, ii., Herces., 
79 (R. C.;. 



WORSHIP OF THE CROSS AND OF RELICS. 



95 



every place ; and He hears every where, 
and He is ever with thee — ' " 

" But, sir," I exclaimed, again interrupt- 
ing the monk, " that is, however, the very 
reason which the Council of Trent brings 
forward to justify this invocation."* 

" Well," replied the monk, " Chrysostom 
contradicts it still more. ' See,' he adds, 
' the wisdom of the Canaanitish woman ! 
Did she go and invoke James, or entreat 
Peter, or intercede before John 1 No ; she 
makes her way among the crowd, saying, 
" I need no mediator ; my introduction is 
my repentance, and it is to the very source 
that I go. For it is for this that the Lord 
came down from heaven and took on Him- 
self my nature ; it is that I should have 
the boldness to say to Him, O Lord ! have 
mercy on me !" 'f And as if this judgment 
of St. Chrysostom were not decisive enough, 
St. Ambrose adds this sentence to it : ' To 
come to God by means of His creatures, 
and thus to liken Him who knows and sees 
all things to those kings whom we ap- 
proach by means of their courtiers and 
generals, is nothing else than committing 
the crime of spiritual high treason.'' "J 

" No, sir," I again replied, " I cannot under- 
stand how, after such declarations against 
the invocation of saints, the Church of 
Rome, in teaching it, pretends to establish 
herself on the Fathers." 

The monk answered, " If I did not know 
by experience myself what this strong de- 
lusion, by which, says the Bible, they be- 
lieve a lie and have pleasure in unrighte- 
ousness, is,*^ I should wonder also. But I 
have lived in that voluntary delusion, in 
that fatal intoxication ; and I also silenced 
my conscience, and preferred my church to 
the truth, to this Bible, which I also then 
hated. Now, delivered from a thousand 
seducing spirits, like Legion, I am in my 
right mind, at tlie feet of the Lord Jesus,|| 
and there I listen to nothing but His Word, 
and say, with »S^ Augustine, ' No, let not 
our religion be the worship of men who 
are dead ; for if they lived faithfully, they 
do not ask of us that homage, but they di- 
rect us to Him who enlightens them them- 
selves. If, then, we pay any honor to the 
angels or the saints, it is that of charity, 
but not that of worship ; for it is God only 
who gives strength to our souls, as He 
gives it also to the angels ; and the blessed 
saints refuse our sacrifice, because, like 
themselves, we are the City of God, to 
whom alone belong these honors. I honor, 
then, the memory of the martyrs ; but I do 
not raise temples to them ; I consecrate no 
altars to them, and I address no worship 
to them ; because they are not our God, 



* Trid. Cone, sess. xvii., De sacr. Miss., c. 3. Id., 
sess. XXV. Cat. Cone. Trid., pars ill., c. 2, ^ 16, etc. 
+ Chrys., In dismiss. Chanan., tom. v., p. 195 (R. C). 
X Ambr., In epist. ad Rom., c. i. 
^ 2 Thess., ii., 11, 12. II Mark, v., 9-15. 



and because, moreover, their spirits are m 
a place where they see and hear nothing 
that is done during the life of men. They 
serve God, it is true ; but of all those who 
have ever participated in human nature, 
our High-Priest is the only one who inter- 
cedes for us, and who is, therefore, the re- 
ality of the type which was set forth among 
the ancient people, where the high-priest 
only entered into the Most Holy place, while 
all the people remained without the veil.'* 
Such, sir, is my belief; and such, you see, 
was that of the faithful Church in all 
times ; and it is to that Church that my 
soul looks ; yes ! it is that Church which 
I honor !" 

Then I said to the monk, pointing to the 
abbey, which we saw in the distance be- 
tween the trees, " It was there, when, a& 
now, the blind multitudes came thither to 
invoke the dead, that Ulrich Zwingle, also 
a monk, acquired, by this same Bible, the 
same light that now illumines your soul !" 

" Zwingle !" exclaimed the monk, with 
astonishment : " it is true ; it is even here 
that he lived, that he read the Bible, and 
gave testimony to its truth ! What asso 
ciations ! what recollections !" 

" And what a duty, is it not, sir]" I add- 
ed, solemnly. 

The monk sighed. He took my hand, 
which he pressed between his for some 
time, and then, fixing his eyes on mine, he 
said, " Levi, the publican, left the custom 
as soon as he heard the call of the Lord. 
I wait !" 



CHAPTER XVII. 

WORSHIP OF THE CROSS AND OF RELICS. 

I HAD left Einsiedlen, and I continued 
my journey amid countries equally re- 
nowned for the beauty of their situation 
and the heroic recollections which recur 
at every step. I had passed Morgarten, 
which twice witnessed the impetuous valor 
of a few Switzers, overthrowing and pur- 
suing the assembled cohorts of their op- 
pressors ; and a little farther, on the wild 
shore of a gloomy and desolate lake, and, 
as it were, at the feet of inaccessible rocks, 
I had seated myself by the Grutli, on the 
grass of that httle plain where was pro- 
nounced, at dead of night, the first oath 
which founded the unconquerable liberties 
of those countries. 

But I took no pleasure in the remem- 
brance of these trophies, nor at the thought 
of that earthly liberty which, nevertheless, 
is so precious to men, and is often so dear- 
ly acquired. My soul contemplated invis- 
ible things, and I mourned at the thought 
of the ancient and still increasing weight 



* Aug., De ver. relig., sub finem. In Johan., tract 
xxiii., 5. De Civ. Dei, lib. x., 16. Ibid., viii., 27. 
In Psalm Ixvi., De cur. mort., liii. (R. C). 



9G 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



of that lamentable slavery in which super- 
stition retains and causes to perish the 
souls of those generous men, whom no hu- 
man yoke has yet been able to subject. 
I saw' its signs and decrees every where. 
On the squares of the boroughs and villa- 
ges ; in the crossways, the avenues, and 
roads ; on the walls and doors of the 
houses ; around the churches and chapels ; 
before the oratories ; on the fountains and 
the bridges, every where, statues and im- 
ages gave the command to that people, 
otherwise so proud, to bow down before 
wood or stone, to obey humbly the indul- 
gences and directions which were repeated 
under each idol, and to prefer fabulous le- 
gends and false miracles to the Word of 
God, the Holy Bible. 

I had already passed several villages, 
and was approaching an opulent little town, 
when I overtook some pilgrims who were 
going in the same direction as myself. 
Two men, a woman of middle age, and 
three young girls formed this small band 
which, they told me when I came up to 
them and saluted them, came from Alsace, I 
to visit the holy places of Switzerland. The 
appearance of these worshipers was inter- 
esting. Modesty adorned the faces of the 
women, and gravity those of the men, the 
eldest of whom, who was the father of the» 
family, informed me that he was a school- 
master in the village whence they had 
come. The person who journeyed with 
them was a notary, and their friend. 

" Till now, our pilgrimage has been very 
happy," said the mother to me. " The 
blessed Virgin has every where protected 
us, and it is, as it were, by miracles that 
she has kept us daily." 

Thereupon each related what had hap- 
pened to him or her, how one had been de- 
livered from frightful dreams which tor- 
mented him, another had been cured of 
pains in the eyes or feet, or of an anguish 
which weighed on their hearts ; " and all 
that," said the schoolmaster to me, " since 
we reached the holy church of Our Lady 
of the Hermits, and kissed the ground 
where the great St. Meinrad prayed." 
'■'■ And moreover, sir," the notary added, 
" I was able to obtain, by the charity of one 
of the deacons, a piece of the true wood of 
the chapel of that saint. My asthma has 
entirely left me, at least very yearly so, 
since I have kept that holy wood on my 
bosom. See, sir, here it is," he added, 
showing me a little tin box attached to a 
chaplet, where a small piece of rotten wood 
was seen under a glass, in the midst of 
spangles of various colors. 

Reader, you will understand what were 
then my feelings, when you know that on 
my way, at Constance, when I visited the 
prison of Jerome of Prague, I had detach- 
ed with my knife a piece of the wood of 
the window of that dungeon, and I had it 



also in my knapsack. What a contrast 
arose before my mind between these two 
pieces of wood ! One of them was a relic, 
that is to say, an idol or a talisman, which 
an immortal soul honored as a sacred be- 
ing, on which he rested his confidence, and 
which made him despise Jesus. The oth- 
er wood, on the contrary, was a memorial, 
a monument, of the hostility of the Word of 
God toward such practices, and of the ha- 
tred of those who give themselves up to 
those practices toward the Word of God, 
and toward believers who venerate it. 
These two pieces of wood then appeared 
to me like two adversaries ; the one, as it 
were, luminous, and telling me of Jesus ; 
the other like the darkness of death, which 
Satan produces ; and, recaUing to my mind, 
in looking at them, Meinrad and Jerome, 
I could not but say to myself, " He who 
takes refuge with the first, is a stranger to 
that Saviour for whom the other freely laid 
down his life !" 

" This is a great holyday here," said the 
teacher to me, " and you doubtless know 
that this church is one of the holiest in the 
world ; for it possesses the sacred bones 
of St. Nicholas of Flue, that holy hermit, 
so highly approved of God and the Vir- 
gin, who, in the fifteenth century, retired to 
these mountains, where he performed so 
many miracles, and where he died sur- 
rounded by angels." 

" Ah !" exclaimed one of the girls, " I see 
there the procession which advances ; let 
us hasten to arrive in time." 

In fact, the little town vv^as filled by a 
multitude of devotees, who pressed' on 
toward the church. I entered with the 
crowd, which soon kneeled down in amass 
before the great altar, on which was seated 
a skeleton of a brown color, and half cloth- 
ed with a golden cloth. In the cavities of 
his eyes were two brilliant stones, which 
made them frightful to look at; and his 
hands, stretched forward, had on each fin- 
ger rows of copper rings, which the touch 
of the saint consecrated, communicating 
miraculous virtues to them. 

§ 1. WORSHIP OF THE CROSS. 

The people, however, had arisen, and 
the deepest silence reigned both in the 
church and outside on the square, which 
was also covered by crowds of devotees. 

I did not know what they were waiting 
for with such respect, when, after certain 
prayers and ceremonies, one of the priests 
surrounding the altar received from the 
hands of a deacon a cross of wood, of 
pretty large size, entirely wrapped in a rich- 
ly-embroidered cloth. Then, standing on 
one side of the altar, he uncovered part of 
the cross, which he raised a little, saying 
to the people, " This is the wood of the 
true cross /" and immediately the assembly 
bowed to the ground, and the choir sang, 



THE WORSHIP OF RELICS. 



97 



Come and worship ! We salute thee, oh 
Cross ! our only hope ! In this triumph of 
■ thy glory, increase the grace of believers, and 
take away the sms of the guilty .'* 

Then the priest, having passed to tl^e 
other side of the altar, uncovered another 
.part of the cross, which he raised higher 
than before, and repeated to the people, 
" Come, let us worship /" and the choir re- 
-sumed its singing : 

O thou Cross I more brilliant than any 
■star! Illustrious Cross, beloved Cross, holier 
4han all that is holy here below ! Thou which 
alone art worthy of bearing the treasures of 
the loorld ! Wood, full of kindness, which 
tookest on thyself so amiable a load I save 
this multitude assembled to-day to praise thee.j 

Finally, the priest, having placed him- 
self before the middle of the altar, finished 
.uncovering the cross, and raising it for the 
third time, but higher than the first two, 
said, " Here is the wood of that Cross where- 
on the salvation of the world hung /" and 
while the choir again repeated, Come, let 
us worship ! etc., the priest took off his 
shoes, bent his knees thrice, and then kiss- 
ed the cross, which he adored ; and all the 
other priests, and after them the whole 
congregation, bent their knees also, and 
bowed down in the humblest adoration. | 

^ '2. THE WORSHIP OF RELICS. 

The service ended as usual ; and, when it 
was finished, a priest delivered from the pul- 
pit the panegyric of the saint whose bones 
were on the altar. He related, with much 
detail, his retreat from the world, his life 
as a hermit, his austerities, his supernatu- 
ral virtues, and his death, at which angels 
were seen. Then he spoke of the treas- 
ure which that church possessed ; of the 
sacred bones of that man of God, which, 
by their presence, protected not only the 
whole borough, but all the country, and 
which daily worked glorious deliverances 
and cures'^ by the mere sight of them, but 
especially by the miraculous virtue which 
they communicated to the rings which had 
touched them. He ended his discourse by 
congratulating the pious pilgrims on the 
advantages which they had acquired, for 
themselves and for other believers, in those 
heavenly jewels, a thousand times more 
precious than the pearls and rubies which 
shone on the crowns of kings, and which 
should accompany them till death. This ex- 
ordium was followed by the sale before the 
door of the church, in two or three stalls, 
of the rings which had just been taken from 

* Brev. Rom., Infesto Exalt. S. Cruc., Antwerp, 
1823 (R. C). 

t Brev. Rom., ad magnificat, antiphona, ubi supra 
<R. C). 

% Miss. Rom., Feria, vl,in parasc (Dublin, 1795). 

\ Catech. Cone. Trid. pars iii., c. 2, ^31. Cone. 
Trid., sess. xxv., De Reliquiis decretum. Mandat 
Sancta Synodus, etc., In Diction. Theol. (Rom.), 
Paris, 1761. 
N 



the fingers of the skeleton, or of those, 
doubtless, already consecrated, which they 
had taken care to provide themselves with 
beforehand. 

" Blessed is the country," said the school- 
master, with enthusiasm (when I came up 
with my companions and sat down with 
them beneath the shade of the beautiful 
walks which are near the church), " yes, 
blessed are the people which possess what 
we find here. What solemnity ! what 
divine holiness, in that elevation, in that 
adoration of the blessed wood of the cross !" 

" And whither would one go," added the 
notary, " to find relics as perfect as those 
we have just seen 1 There is not wanting 
a single finger, not the smallest bone, not 
a nail !" 

" I touched his right foot," said one of 
the girls, in a whisper to her mother. 

" You are blessed indeed, my daughter !" 
answered her mother. " Take great care ! 
do not wash your hands during seven 
days !" 

Reader, what I had already heard in the 
morning, what I had just seen, and what 
followed, called out to me to come to the 
help of these souls, and, if I could, to en- 
lighten them. But I first wished to know 
how far their confidence in relics went, 
or if there was still any piety in their 
hearts. I then-- declared to the pilgrims 
for what object I had visited the temples 
of the Church of Rome, and, addressing 
the teacher, I said to him, " You have, I 
see, a very firm faith in that cross and in 
these relics ! Do you, then, really believe 
that there is in that wood and in those 
bones a supernatural quality, and, as it 
were, divine virtue "?" 

" Wo to me !" he replied, with energy, 
crossing himself, " if I doubted, even in the 
most secret feelings of my heart, only one 
of those dogmas, only one of those priv- 
ileges and practices of the Holy Church ! 
If I sinned so far, would I not immediately 
cease being one of her members, and would 
I not thus lose my salvation "?* Doubt- 
less, sir, we make a distinction between 
the worship which we pay to the relics of 
the saints and to the wood of the cross, 
and that which is required of us toward 
God or the Blessed Virgin ; but we never- 
theless give them the homage due to them 
as to sacred remains, or to the pledges of 
our protectors."! 

" How much of this homage do you give 
them?" I asked, preparing to mark his an- 
swer. 

" God is not jealous of the saints," the 
notary replied, sharply. " If, then, we 
bend the knee before a shrine, if we de- 



* Dr. Wiseman's Lect., book ii. Pap. Pii IV., 
Prof, fid., sub finem. 

t Trid. Cone, sess. xxv., De invoc. vener. et relig. 
sanct. et sacr. imag. Bellarm., De Eccl. triumph., lib, 
il., c. 2 (C. T.). 



98 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



voutly kiss it, or if we swear by relics ; if 
we build altars to them and burn candles 
in their honor— as the golden candlestick 
was continually lighted in the temple of 
Jerusalem before the ark— in all this we 
do not too much. Besides, this is what 
the Church teaches us."* 

" I know something more," resumed the 
schoolmaster, with a little emphasis, " and 
I will tell you all. I have read a little on 
this subject ; here, then, are the facts. 
Listen : Every one knows that the shadow 
of the Prince of the Apostles cured the 
sick over whom it passed ; that the hand- 
kerchiefs which St. Paul had touched 
worked similar miracles ; and that, even 
in the times of the prophets in Israel, a 
dead person arose to life when he touched 
the bones of Elisha.f Well, the Church 
is no less rich in miracles now than she 
was then ; and the holy handkerchief of 
Jesus Christ, for instance, or the handker- 
chief of St. Veronica, or the wood of the 
true Cross, if the faithful invoke them, de- 
liver them also from the pestilence, from 
death or perils, or else admit them to the 
society of the blessed saints, and fill them 
with heavenly mercies. J The Church in- 
vokes them, then, as beings in some man- 
ner vivified by the powerful virtue which 
God commmiicates to them, and in all 
ages she has manifested the most sacred 
veneration for them. See, for instance, 
with what respect Moses transported to 
the land of Canaan the bones of the pa- 
triarch St. Joseph. See, also, with what 
mysterious and supernatural burial God 
honored the body of St. Moses. See, 
again, how King Josiah, when he destroy- 
ed the tombs at Bethel, spared the relics 
of the man of God. See how the manna, 
and the rod of Aaron, were sacredly kept 
in the temple of the Lord.^ Why, then, 
should not the Church imitate such ex- 
amples'? Behold, also, what faithfulness 
she has always shown in this respect, 
as in all others ! Thus, for instance, see 
how those bones of St. Ignatius, which 
the wild beasts left, were collected by his 
disciples and carried to Antioch ; and how 
the remains of St. Polycarp were also tak- 
en away from his stake ; to say nothing 
of the head of St. John the Baptist ; of the 
holy handkerchief of the Saviour ; of His 
crown of thorns ; of the nails of His cross ; 
of the veil of the Blessed Virgin ; of the 
pulpit in which St. Peter preached at Rome ; 
of the iron chain with which St. Paul was 
bound; of the stone which struck St. 
Stephen the Martyr on the forehead ; and 
many other estimable relics, all due to the 



^ Bell., De relig. sand., lib. ii., c. 21. Vasquez, 
QucBst., XXXV., disp. 112. (Turret., De nee. seces.) 

t Acts, v., 15 ; xix., 12. 2 Kings, xiii., 21. 

i Miss. Roman. (Ibid.), 

() Exod., xiii., 19. Deut.. xxxiv., C. Jude, 9. 2 
Kings, xxiii., 17, 18. Exod., xvi., 32. Numb., xvii., 
10. 



zeal of the Church and her jealousy for 
the glory of the saints."* 

" I have read," said the notary, " aston- 
ishing things about the admirable industry 
of»the Church in the research and preserva- 
tion of these precious monuments. When 
one thinks that, among other treasures of 
the kind, at the time when the heretics 
ravaged and pillaged the convents and 
churches, there were found, in a single 
abbey in Ireland, all the following : ' a piece 
of the sepulchre of Rachel ; a little of the 
manna that nourished Israel in the wilder- 
ness ; a small bone of one of the three 
young men whom Nebuchadnezzar had 
thrown into the furnace ; six stones of the 
Temple of Jerusalem ; three pieces of the 
manger in which the child Jesus was pla- 
ced ; some of the gold which the wise men 
presented to him ; one of the water-pots 
used at the wedding in Cana ; two of the 
stones which the devil showed Jesus, that 
He might make bread of them ; a small 
fragment of the loaves which were multi- 
plied for the people ; some of the earth on 
which Mary wept when she saw the side 
of the Saviour pierced ; some drops of her 
holy milk ; some hairs of the dress of St. 
John the Baptist ; two teeth of St, Peter ; 
a piece of the cross of St. Andrew ; and a 
thousand other things I'f I ask you all. 
Was it not necessary that God Himself 
should gather such riches for His Church I 
For where and how otherwise could they 
ever have been recognized and preserved 
for ages 1" 

" And is all that lost 1" asked one of the 
girls. " Have the heretics thrown all into 
the fire !" 

" They have done much more," answered 
the teacher. " But ' the gates of hell will 
not prevail against our mother the Church ;^ 
and we shall always have holy relics 
enough to confound all infidels. See, for 
instance, again, what God himself did, as 
the notary said, as to that cross which, as 
a holy cardinal wrote, ' is the centre and 
accomplishment of His love, and which, 
consequently, should be adored just as Je- 
sus himself.'! ^^ ^^e first place, you see 
it represented, in paradise, by the tree of 
life, which was nothing else than the type 
of that Holy Cross. "§ 

" Indeed !" said the schoolmaster's wife, 
with surprise and devotion, " I should nev 
er have thought it." 

" The ark of Noah," continued the teach- 
er, " the rod of Aaron, and that mark T 
set, says the Prophet Ezekiel, on the fore- 
head of the true worshipers, were nothing 
else than symbols, also, of that cross, 
which is the salvation of the world. 11 0th- 



* Bellarm., De Eccl. triumph., lib. ii. De relig. sanct., 
lib. ii., c. 21. Rhem. Annot., in Acts, xxviii., 1, etc. 
t Johannis Confratris et Monachi Glastonierisis- 
Chronica, etc., Oxonii, p. 22 (R. C, i., 285). 

t Bellarm., De ador. Cruc, lib. ii., c. 26. 

^ Ibid. II Ibid. 



THE WORSHIP OF RELICS. 



erwise, why would God have preserved it, 
keeping it hidden to the eyes of his ene- 
mies, till a holy woman, an empress, dis- 
covered it ?" 

" An empress !" exclaimed the girls. 
" And when, father, pray V 

" It was in the fourth century, my daugh- 
ter," replied the father ; " and it was St. 
Helena, the mother of the Emperor Con- 
stantine, who, having had excavations 
made on the summit of Mount Calvary, 
had the happiness of finding the three 
crosses of the crucifixion. That of the Sav- 
iour bore still its inscription, and the marks 
of His blood were seen, just as if it had 
been spilt only the day before. That holy 
woman, St. Paul of Nola tells us, ' imme- 
diately sent half of that sacred cross to 
Constantinople ; and, at the same time, 
she distributed so great a number of pie- 
ces, that " the whole world," St. Cyril tells 
us, " was full of them ;" ' and yet, mark 
this, my daughter : the half which Helena 
possessed never diminished." 

" What a miracle !" exclaimed the moth- 
er. " It was enough to convert all the 
Turks." 

" My dear, there were none then," con- 
tinued the teacher, " but there were many 
more Persians ; and they, in 614, having 
taken away this holy cross, Heraclitus re- 
conquered it seven days after, and distrib- 
uted it widely."* 

" You forget to say," added the notary, 
" that it was the miraculous apparition of 
the cross which converted and made vic- 
torious the Emperor Constantine ; and that 
the same heavenly sign appeared again 
in the time of Julian the apostate, to con- 
found him." 

•' I should never finish," continued the 
schoolmaster, " if I related all the wonders 
of this divine wood. The cross, therefore, 
is sacred to every child of the Holy Cath- 
ohc Church. It is under its protection that 
he places himself when he makes its sign 
on his person, and it is also by that sign 
that he consecrates all that he would ren- 
der venerable and pure. For if the blood 
of the slain lamb was placed on the doors 
of the Israelites to keep death from it ; }/ 
the letter T, the true sign of the cross, was 
written, as I said, on the foreheads of the 
chosen in Jerusalem ; if Jacob, blessijpg the 
sons of Joseph, made with his hawds the 
sign of the cross, was it not eaough to 
show, in a prophetical manner, ti'iat among 
Christians the sign and symbo? of the true 
cross would ever be the guardian and de- 
liverance of the Church ]''t 

*' Say all, then, dear fn'end," continued 
the notary. " Tell how many demons are 
daily exorcised and chased away; how 
many pains, ho w much sadness, how many 



* Dist. Univ. Hist, Crit. et Bibl, t. viii., 310. 
t Bellarm., De odor. Cruc, lib. ii., c. 29. Rhem. 
annot. in L>.ic., xxiv., sect. v. 



wanderings of mind, are immediately cured ; 
how many blessings are poured out on our 
houses, our lands, our enterprises, or our 
voyages, by this single sign, by one single 
cross, devoutly placed either on the bed of 
the patient, or on the roof of the house^ 
or at the gate of the field, of a good Cath- 
olic."* 

" Who, then, sir," said the schoolmaster, 
addressing me, and offering me his hand, 
" would refuse to acknowledge such evi- 
dence 1 Who would not give the cross the 
same adoration which is due to Jesus 
Christ ;t and especially, who would not 
eagerly unite with that ancient and holy 
Church, which possesses in that cross, and 
in the numberless relics of all the saints, 
the heavenly and manifest pledges of the 
presence of God in the midst of her, and 
that without its having ever been other- 
wise ]" 

I had listened to all, reader, and my si- 
lence had, I think, been taken for appro- 
bation, or, at least, for interest. But, as 
Elihu said at last to the friends of Job, 
" the spirit within me constrained me, and 
I had to open my lips and answer. ":[: But I 
wished to try quietly to enlighten those 
poor souls, and I said to them, 

" Devotion is a very commendable feel- 
ing, but must it not be intelligent ? Thus, 
to begin with the relics and their efiicacy ; 
the schoolmaster brought up in their favor 
the cures worked by the presence or heav- 
enly virtues of the persons of the apostles, 
or by touching the bones of a prophet. But 
should it not be recollected that the apos- 
tles were living, and that they had receiv- 
ed miraculous powers from the Lord him- 
self? They were then situated quite dif- 
ferently from TS^hat the dead are, that is to 
say, from di>st, in which the Spirit of God 
is not fouixl. And as to the bones of Eli- 
sha, I b^ you to tell me, in the first place, 
if it w?s in order to effect the resurrection 
of tb^ dead body that they made it roll 
do\^ii to the bones of the prophet ; and 
then I would ask how one can infer from 
tAis miracle, which was shown, like many 
others, for the confirmation of the mission of 
a prophet, that under the Gospel, when the 
fullness of the truth has come, its perfect 
hght needs such recommendations \ The? 
schoolmaster also mentioned the transport- 
ing of the bones of Joseph, the burial of 
Moses, the tomb of the man of God at 
Bethel, the manna, the rod of Aaron, aa^ 
the letter T of Ezekiel. But if ' by faith 
Joseph gave commandment concerninghis 
bones,'^ was it, pray, that Israel should 
serve them, or expect miracles from them ? 
If God himself buried Moses, and thus took 
away his dead body from the midst of Is- 
rael, was it not really to prevent His peo- 



* Bellarm , De ador. Cruc, lib. ii., c. 20. Rhem. in 
1 Tim., iv., sect. 12. f Aquin., iii., 25 (V. P.)^ 

t Job, xxxii., 18-20. () Hebrews^,xi.:,.22. 



100 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



pie from falling into idolatrj', by a worship 
which ihey might have paid to that servant 
of God I Did Josiah, uiicn he separated 
the bones of a prophet of God from those 
of the Baalites, which he burned on their 
altar, leave them in repose in their tomb 
for the purpose of using them as relics, either 
then or afterward, and of transporting them 
to some temple 1 Finally, was it that the 
manna and the rod of Aaron should work 
cures and miracles, or that temples and 
altars should be consecrated to them, or 
that pilgrimages should be made to them, 
that God wished that this double memori- 
al of His deliverance should be preserved 
by His people] 

"And as to the cross, I ask you, in the 
presence of the Lord, What affinity has 
either Scripture or good sense indicated 
between a dead and useless piece of wood, 
and the Tree of Life, or tlie ark of Noah, 
both of which related to the Messiah] 
What greater affinity can there be between 
the Hebrew letter n, ^marked,' says Eze- 
kiel, ' on the foreheads of the elect,' and 
this Greek or Latin T, in which people 
have chosen to see a cross ? Finally, and 
especially, what affinity can there ever be 
between the cursed tree to w^hich the Lamb 
of God was attached, and that only Son, 
who is in the bosom of the Father, that 
love He had for His Church, that sacrifice 
of the covenant, or that eternal power of 
the Holy Spirit] ... To confound these 
pieces of wood with Jesus, with His love, 
alas ! is it not imitating Israel, who, forget- 
ting that it was faith in the promise of 
God that had once cured those who looked 
tow^ard the brazen serpent, confided foolish- 
ly in the serpent itself, and thus paid wor- 
ship to that piece of metal V 

'' What, sir," exclaimed the notary, w4th 
an irritation which he scarcely concealed, 
and in a somewhat railing tone '' must 
there be something more than rn'o-acles, 
more than prodigies, to gain your confi- 
dence ]" 

I then felt that I ought, as it is wTitttn, 
to " answer a fool according to his foll> 
lest he be wise in his own conceit,"* and 
1 said with mildness, but at the same time 
with decision," Well, sir, since you say that 
this ought to be sufficient for me, and ought 
to convince me, you should, I think, to 
break the hardness of my heart, and to 
draw me at last into the bosom of the 
Church of Rome, do for me what Hezekiah 
did before the envoys of the King of Bab- 
ylon, show me, without hiding any thing, 
ALL the treasures which your Church pos- 
sesses. 

" I then say, sir, that, even limiting your- 
self for the present to the principal of 
these treasures — I mean to the relics of the 
Lord Jesus, of the Virgin, of John the 



* Prov., xxvi., 5. 



Baptist, and of some apostles, and other 
saints — you should have told and assured 
me that, in more than one hundred church- 
es, chapels, monasteries, or abbeys, is 
shown and worshiped the true blood of Je- 
sus Christ ; sometimes, it is true, in a 
small quantity, such as the few drops 
w^hich the senator Nicodemus secretly 
collected in his glove, and which are kept 
at La Rochelle ; at other times in abun- 
dance, as the full vials shown at Mantua, 
at Billom, and elsewhere, and the chalices 
which can be filled with it at St. Eustasius, 
at Rome, and in other' churches. What 
quantities of blood, then, my friends, must 
the Lord have spilt ; and what power, and, 
at the same time, what industry in that 
church which has succeeded in preserving 
it pure and without mixture throughout so 
many ages !* You should have told me 
that, sir, and much more besides. For in- 
stance, that at Rome any one may see the 
manger, preserved entire, in which the 
Lord was deposited at His birth ; the cloth 
that enveloped Him in that humble cradle ; 
and even the first little shirt made for Him 
by His holy mother. That at Ravenna, a 
Pisa, at Cluny, at Angers, and at St. Salva- 
dor, are seen all the stone vessels in which 
the water at the feast of Cana was turned 
to wine, and which are of all sorts, of dif- 
ferent sizes and forms. That at ' St. John 
of Lateran,' at Rome, is still to be seen the 
table at which the Lord celebrated the 
Supper, and the knife w^hich He used to 
carve the paschal lamb. That at Poictiers, 
at Aries, at Soissons, and even, if I remem- 
ber, at Calvary, near Chambery, are seen, 
on rocks, the footsteps of the Saviour, 
and that they are worn away by the kisses 
of believers. 

" Moreover, sir, you should have showm 
me that the Church of Rome is so dear to 
God, that with prodigahty, if I may dare to 
say so. He has enriched her with these 
priceless treasures. Thus it is sometimes 
double or triple, or even more, that she 
possesses the same relic. For instance, 
two or three churches preserve, kiss, and 
venerate the true silver plate on which was 
placed the lamb of the last Passover which 
the Lord celebrated. They have twice, 
also the towel with which the Lord wiped 
the leet of the apostles : and on that of 
Aix-la-Chapelle is evidently seen the mark 
of Judas's foot. They have, at the very 
least, fifteen times the three nails which 
attached the Saviour to the cross ; though 
(the church also tells us) those nails were 



* The reader who is airious of knowing the jus- 
tifying proof s of whai follows, can consult (if he has 
time and patience to ao so) the Roman Martyrologies, 
and the Legends or Lives of the Saints. — Calvinus, 
AdmoJiitio de reliquiis. Chemnitius, Examen. Cone. 
Trid., De reliquiis. Le cose maravigUose deW alma 
citta di Roma, etc., 1575. Le baton detafoi chretienne, 
etc., 1561. Joh. Rainoldi, De Rom. ted. idol, in cultu 
sand., 1598 ; as, also, the works mentioned on p. 



THE WORSHIP OF RELICS. 



101 



first used by pious and holy ^lena to 
form tlie bit of her horse, and to ornament 
Constantine's helmet. They also possess 
five or six times the iron of the lance with 
which the Roman soldier pierced the side 
of the Lord, and three times the purple robe 
with which Herod clothed Him ; and as to 
the thorns with which His forehead was 
crowned, they exist in such abundance 
that one might inclose a field with them. 
To that,- sir, you should add those super- 
natural portraits of the Saviour and of His 
blessed Mother, which form the glory of so 
many churches. For instance, that which 
the Lord made Himself on a cloth, by ap- 
plying His face to it, when He saw that 
the painter whom the King Abgarus had 
sent to Him to take it, did not succeed in 
his work ; or else, those of the Virgin, 
which St, Luke made (who, as is known, 
was quite as good a painter as a physi- 
cian), and the most faithful and precious 
of all of which was taken from that evan- 
gelist's tomb, who always carried it with 
him, and did not separate himself from it 
even in death." 

" Admirable !" exclaimed the teacher's 
wife. " It is like that which a priest gave 
me when I was but eighteen years old, 
and which I would have carried about with 
me, were it not too heavy. Ah ! I wish 
you could see how it resembles !" 

" Well ! yes, madam ; and therefore Mr. 
Schoolmaster, or Mr. Notary, should have 
told me all that ; and, in addition to such 
relics, have placed also before me those of 
the sword and shield of the Archangel 
Michael ; which, though suited, by their 
smallness, for a child rather than for the 
' Chief of the Lord's armies,' are neverthe- 
less, both of them, at Carcassona and 
Tours, where a considerable number of 
pilgrims visit and worship them. But espe- 
cially you should have tol-d me that, though 
the historian Eusebius afiirms that the 
body of John the Baptist was reduced to 
ashes by the heathen, the Church of Rome 
nevertheless possesses, in the first place, 
three heads, one of which is entire and is 
seen at Rome, the second is at St. Salva- 
dor, and the third is divided in two different 
portions, and sometimes even double and 
triple, between the cities of Amiens, which 
has its face (whereon is seen the mark of 
a knife with which Herodias struck it) ; of 
St. John of Angeli, w^hich possesses this 
same part ; of Malta, which preserves its 
skull ; of Nemours, which has its occiput ; 
of St. John of Maurianna, which has its 
brain ; of St. Flour, which has one ear ; of 
Nevers, St. Salvador, Noyon, and Luca, 
each of which has its jaw and hair ; of 
Sens, Besanpon, Toulouse, Bourges, Flor- 
ence, and MaQon, where is seen, five or six 
times, the finger of the right hand, with 
which he showed Jesus when he said, 
' Behold the Lamb of God !' 



" Again, sir, what ought you not have 
told me about the holy relics of the apos- 
tles ! I might have heard you for hours 
on this subject. In the first place, as to 
those two pillars of the Church, St. Peter 
and St. Paul, you might have told me that 
their bodies, quite entire, are at Rome, 
half in one church, and half in another ; 
but that this does not hinder (and always 
by the same miracle Avhich we have al- 
ready seen) their precious remains from 
being found also in every church of any 
repute ; as, for instance, at Poictiers, the 
jaw and beard of St. Peter; at Treves, 
several of the bones, great and small, of 
these two apostles ; at Argenton, a shoul- 
der of St. Paul ; and in many other places, 
other fragments. It is true that, had I 
been unbelieving or ill-disposed, 1 might 
have questioned the authenticity, or even 
the reaHty of these relics. Thus, perhaps, 
I might have recalled to your mind that at 
Geneva, before that Reformation, which 
justly causes you so much indignation and 
anger, was seen, in the cathedral, St. Pe- 
ter's brain, exposed on the great altar, 
and, at a highly-venerated shrine, one .of 
the arms of St. Anthony; that to these 
two relics the most faithful devotion was 
paid ; to which, as here to the bones of 
St. Nicholas, pilgrimages and offerings 
were made ; that several wonderful cures 
had been wrought by coming in contact 
with them ; and that, in public calamities, 
in times of pestilence or famine, it had 
been deemed sufficient to carry through 
the city those venerable remains, for the 
plague to cease : but I might have also told 
you that, by an inexplicable fatality, it 
happened that, when the heretics (as you 
ought to call them) examined closely these 
two treasures, St. Peter's brain proved to 
be a shapeless mass of pumice stone, and 
St. Anthony's arm a certain dried up por- 
tion of a stag. "^ 

" But, if my unbelief had recalled such 
incongruities to your mind, you might, like 
many others of the/at^^/wZ.have answered 
nothing, have passed it by, and, to shut my 
mouth, have spoken to me of the sandals 
of St. Peter and St. Paul, which are pre- 
served either at St. Salvador or at Poic- 
tiers ; and which, to prove that they are 
indeed those of a poor ' fisherman,' and 
of a ' tent-maker,' are made of velvet, orna- 
mented with golden spangles ! You might 
have added to these, with the same assur- 
ance, the sacerdotal robe which St. Peter 
wore at Rome when he celebrated mass 
there, and which that city has always 
possessed since ; an unanswerable proof 
(had I expressed any doubts thereon) that 
St. Peter was indeed the first Bishop of 
Rome, and certainly that even at that time 
mass was said, as it is now. Then, passing 
to the same altar whereupon that apostol- 
ical mass was celebrated, you might have 



102 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



told me that there are tivo of them ; one at 
Rome,Avhich is known to the whole world, 
and the other at Pisa, which this latter city 
certifies, and that, too, wilhoiU error; and 
you might have added, that at Rome is still 
seen the sword with which St. Peter 
struck iNIalchus, and the chain with which 
he was bound when the angel delivered 
him from prison ; and that Paris possesses 
the crook or crosier of this primitive 
bishop ; and that both Cologne and Treves 
are so fortunate as to have the staff which 
he usually carried when journeying. 

" From these last two apostles, sirs, you 
might have passed to all the others. Thus, 
you might have told me how Toulouse 
possesses five or six of their bodies, which 
she has in common with other cities, that, 
like herself, also preserve the bodies of 
Matthias and Andrew ; while that of St. 
Matthew is seen at Rome, as well as at 
Treves, and that it is quite as authentic in 
one of these places as it is in the other 
two. And as to St. John, sirs, you should 
have told me that, as his body disappeared 
as soon as it was placed in the ground, it 
has not been possible to collect his bones ; 
but that the Church, ahvays just as prudent 
as infallible, has compensated for it by 
procuring two different specimens, at Rome 
and at Bologne, of the cwp wherein, under 
Domitian, he drank poison, as also the tub 
in which he was thrown into boiling oil ; 
the chain with which he was bound at 
Ephesus, his tunic, and even his prayer- 
stool. You might also have mentioned 
the twelve comhs of the apostles, which 
were shown, and perhaps are still, at St. 
Mary's of Lyons ; the two bodies and three 
heads of Anne, the mother of the Virgin 
Mary ; the three bodies, also, of Lazarus, 
of which one is at Marseilles, another at 
Autun, and the third at Avalon; and the 
two bodies of Mary, his sister, on the fore- 
head of one of which is seen the mark of 
the Saviour's finger, when He kept her 
from approaching Him, saying, ' Touch 
me not !' 

" But I go farther, gentlemen, and say 
that, careful to hide nothing from me, you 
should have spoken to me of the house 
and chapel of Loretto, the first of which 
had been inhabited for more than thirty 
years by our Saviour, at Nazareth; that 
the angels transported them both through 
the air, first to the shore of the Adriatic 
Sea, and then to a more blessed soil, 
whither the multitudes of the faithful year- 
ly resort in holy pilgrimages, leaving, to- 
gether with their money (as they do here), 
their troubles and pains, and even their 
consciences. And, if that had not subdued 
me (supposing I had hardened myself), 
you should have given the master-stroke 
by speaking to me of the two bodies of 
St. Longinus ; yes, of that same soldier 
who pierced the side of Jesus with his 



|wt who became converted, and 
bo 



lance, 

whose T)ody is seen both at Lyons and 
Mantua. And if I had objected (for such 
might have been the excess of my stub 
bornness) that Longinus never existed, 
but that the Greek word Koyxv means a 
spear, and the zeal of some monk, exceed- 
ing his knowledge, had converted it into a 
man's name, and then into that of a saint ; 
you should have replied, without distress- 
ing yourself, that there are many other 
imaginary relics ; for instance, those of the 
three wise men who came to worship the 
child Jesus : those of St. Jervas, Prothais, 
St. Petronilla, St. Margaret, and, finally, of 
the eleven thousand virgins ; and you might 
have ended with the reflection, that if any 
one does not believe what the Church of 
Rome says, he would not be convinced even 
were he to see and touch the heads, arms, 
feet, hands, clothes, shoes, belts, combs, 
mirrors, bodkins, needles, and even the 
parings of the nails of those who, having 
served God on earth, have been received 
by Him in heaven. 

" And as to that cross which, but a little 
while ago, you invoked, and certainly ador- 
ed, how many things quite as astonishing 
you might have related to me about it ! Not 
only should you have said a few words 
concerning it, but you should have spoken 
to me of the prodigious multiplication of 
its wood, which is such that there is scarce- 
ly a seller of holy and authentic relics who 
has not continually a few pieces of it for 
sale ; but especially you should have in- 
formed me that several cities have receiv- 
ed at various epochs this sacred wood, di- 
rectly from heaven itself, or by miracu- 
lous means. For instance, you could have 
told me that one of the women of the Em- 
press Helena, having stolen from her mis- 
tress at Constantinople a considerable 
piece of the true cross, fled, and was ena- 
bled to escape all those who searched for 
her ; then how, after a long, painful, and 
adventurous journey, she came near Poic- 
tiers, in France, where she fell down al- 
most dead with hunger ; that she confess- 
ed her crime to the bishop of the place, in 
whose pious hands this penitent woman 
left her prize, which has since been the in- 
exhaustible source of the prosperity of 
that Church." .... 

"I am not sure," said the notary, inter- 
rupting me, and eyeing me with distrust, 
" but it seems to me that it is in a joking 
way that you relate all these things, as if 
at the bottom of your heart you did not be- 
lieve them." 

" I must, then," I answered, calmly, " be 
very settled in my opinion; for what is 
more authentic, for instance, than all that 
happens even now, and daily, under the 
eyes of thousands who witness it, as to the 
relics of St. Philomena, at Mugnano, in It- 
aly ! I have here the most faithful account 



THE WORSHIP OF RELICS. 



103 



of it possible,* and I will read you some 
parts of it. Listen. 

" ' When the tomb of the saint was dis- 
covered,! there was found in it a vase of 
the finest crystal, which, without the least 
doubt, had been filled with the blood of that 
martyr, but which contained but little, and 
that was dried up. This vase broke into 
a thousand pieces when it was taken up 
from the bottom of the coffin, where it was 
fixed. But what a prodigy took place then ! 
All these pieces of glass, to which the dried 
blood of the saint was attached, were no 
sooner united in another vase, than all at 
once the specks of blood became, some the 
finest gold, others silver, others diamonds, 
rubies, and emeralds, which immediately 
threw a dazzling splendor around. How- 
ever,' says the faithful narration, ' this 
splendor is not always the same. One 
day, for instance, when a prelate of dis- 
tinction visited this holy blood (for it is only 
to persons of quality that it is shown) — 'f 

" And why not to the poor also ]" asked 
the youngest daughter. 

" You understand," whispered one of her 
sisters, " that they make offerings to the 
saint, while the poor — " 

" Silence !" exclaimed the father; and I 
continued : 

" Well! then, ' while the said prelate was 
present, the blood turned, to the great ter- 
ror of all the spectators, to earth ; yes, to 
the most common earth. But how divine 
was this fatal omen ! A few days after, 
the prelate died suddenly at the table.' " 

" Is that what the book says V asked 
the notary, in a dissatisfied tone. 

" Here it is," I said, " at the 27th page. 
Read for yourself." But he refused, and I 
went on : " ' Other prodigies and miracles 
still more astonishing are multiplied, and 
succeed each other daily. On the 9th July, 
1827, a child named Basil, four years old, 
fell from the third story of a house on the 
street pavement, and remained bruised and 
dead. His mother hastened to him ; she 
took him in her arms, and carried him into 
the church : she invoked the aid of Philom- 
ena upon him, and after a few moments, 
the child arose unharmed, and ran laugh- 
ing to his mother's arms.'<^ 

" Another wonder, but of quite another 
kind, ' Of the two editions of the Abridg- 
meiit of the Life of St. Philomena, but two 
hundred and twenty copies remained in 
the hands of the priest who had published ! 
them. During a whole summer he sold | 
many, and distributed still more gratui- j 
tously, to the numerous believers who vis- i 
ited the saint. What remained was, there- ! 

"^ Compendio delle memorie che riguardano Santa \ 
.Filomena, etc., Forino, 1834. 

t Nella cassa che conteneva il sacro corpo, etc., cap. iv. \ 

% Quando succede una visita alV cdtra di persoiie 
i-distinte, alle quali solamente si fa vedere. 

^ Pages 64 and 65. 



fore, of but little consequence. But what 
was his astonishment when, entering one 
day the room where he kept them, he saw 
the floor covered with a prodigious quan- 
tity of these same books, which Philome- 
na had multiplied to recompense her char- 
itable servant. And this miracle was re- 
peated.'* 

" But here is one which surpasses all the 
others, and to which none can be found 
similar in any history. ' The clothes of 
St. Philomena had to be changed, and this 
occasion was seized to place her in a shrine 
longer, by at least eight or ten inches, than 
the former one. The body was deposited 
in it, but it still appeared too short for it. 
A third was prepared, longer by a palm 
than the second. But what happens 1 The 
latter w-as quite as disproportioned as the 
two others, for Philomena's body becomes 
larger, and the dresses are too short, as 
the shrine is lengthened I'f 

"As to the cures, the aid, the deliver- 
ance, and the pardons accorded by Phil- 
omena, they are innumerable, and the rela- 
tion of the accidents, evils, and misfor- 
tunes that have happened to the infidels 
who do not honor her, fills every one who 
believes them with terror. What a saint, 
then ! is she not T What riches are there 
in such relics !" 

The notary murmured, and said to me 
abruptly, with displeasure, " I tell you, sir, 
you do not believe a word of all that, and 
your fine speech is nothing but bantering." 

I then became very serious, and replied, 
" Bantering ! no, no, sir ; and the Lord, who 
searches my thoughts, knows, and has 
known it. But now, speaking freely, I will 
tell you, my friends, that, having seen all 
the error in which I think you are respect- 
ing the worship of the saints, the cross, 
and relics, I have preferred not to oppose 
you directly, but rather to lay before your 
eyes the folly, the falsehood, in a word, 
the diabolical iniquity of this worship, and 
this to make you feel all the abuse, or, 
rather, all the, crime." 

" The crime !" exclaimed the schoolmas- 
ter, but with moderation. 

" Ah ! certainly, dear sir, for if the Lord, 
under the economy of the law, cursed and 
punished with death those who ' consulted 
familiar spirits,'! as well as those who of- 
fered a religious worship to others than 
Himself, the Living God, what shall I say 
the invocation of saints, the adoration of 
the cross, and the confidence in relics, 
would have met under that fearful law"^ 
Would they not have been reputed crimes, 
abominations ! Now, pray, is the Gospel 
less holy or less jealous of God's glory than 
the law of Moses was ] Before His light, 
would not the fables, the seductions, the 
impostures of which I have mentioned but 

* Page 66 and following. f Page 68. 

t Deut., xviii., 10-20. 



104 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



a very few, become darkness; and would 
the poor people whom they draw away 
have more courage before the Saviour than 
they had before the thunders of Sinai? 
Leave, then, my friends, oh ! reject and de- 
test all these superstitions and practices of 
darkness. Worship God ; serve Him alone. 
Contemplate in Jesus, and seek in Him 
alone the grace of the Lord, and the fullness 
of that pardon which His blood has acquired 
for His Church forever. Is He not God 1 
Is His sacrifice not eternal and almighty ; 
and by Him have we not, ever and every 
where, free and happy access to the throne 
of mercy of our heavenly Father ? 

TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS. 

" And, in so doing, do not think that you 
are unfaithful to the doctrine or the cus- 
toms of the holy Universal Church. It is 
true that you are taught that in all ages the 
cross and relics have been the objects of 
the veneration of the Church;* and that, 
even, you are threatened with excommuni- 
cation if you dare to suppose differently.! 
But learn that it was not thus, either in the 
Apostolical Church, or in the Orthodox 
Church at any time, as several Fathers 
attest." 

" Several Fathers ]" exclaimed the school- 
master, with marked interest. " Were 
there ever any who did not serve the saints 
and honor their relics ?" 

" 1 can quote several," I answered. 
" Thus, Tatian, in the second century, op- 
poses the preserving of the remains of the 
martyrs, and wishes them to be carefully 
laid in the ground, ' as in the closet of 
their rich and sovereign Lord.'J The fifth 
Council of Carthage, in 234, condemns 
those who, 'relying on dreams and vain 
revelations, consecrate altars to the mem- 
ory of the martyrs.'^ In the fourth cen- 
tury, Eusebius tells us that, after Polycarp 
had died at the stake, an enemy of the 
Christians accused them of wishing to pay 
homage to the bones of that martyr, and 
that, being thus prevented from collecting 
them among his ashes, the Christians an- 
swered him, ' You do not know, then, that 
we can never leave Jesus, who suffered 
for us, nor serve another than Him, whom 
we know to be the true God !' and that, 
after these words, they gathered the mar- 
tyr's bones, and placed them in a sepul- 
chre. || And Gregory of Nyssa, in the fifth 
century, argues strongly against pilgrim- 
ages — " 

" Against pilgrimages also!" exclaimed 
the schoolmaster : " I am curious to hear 
it." 

" Eusebius," I continued, " having men- 
tioned certain devotees who made a jour- 



* Cat. Cone. Trid. (ubi supra). 

t Decret. Cone. Trid., De Reliquiis, sub finem. 

X Tatian, Or at. Cone. gent. 

^ Chemmit., De Reliq. 

II Euseb., Hist. Eccl, lib. iv., c. 15. 



ney to Arabia to kiss the ground where 
Job had sat, Gregory, after having censured 
this practice, asks if, ' in the day when 
Jesus will call the blessed of His Father 
to possess the kingdom of heaven,* He 
will mention, among their deeds of love, 
pilgrimages to certain places. No,' he 
adds, ' the Lord does not name pilgrims 
among the blessed. And what advantage 
will he have, who will have walked from 
place to place ; as if the Holy Spirit 
abounded, and the grace of God abode 
there in greater measure ? Does, then, the 
change of place make God nearer to thee ? 
Prepare thy heart, therefore, in whatever 
place thou art, and God will come and 
dwell there. t For, wert thou at Golgotha, 
or on the Mount of Olives, or at the Sav- 
iour's tomb, if thy heart be full of wicked 
thoughts, wilt thou receive Jesus there % 
Christians ! journey, then, out of your 
body, toward the Lord, and not from one 
place to another ; for the Holy Spirit 
blows whither it listeth.J Those who are 
here, and who confide themselves jn Jesus 
Christ, are made participators of Him, and 
not because of some pilgrimage made to 
Jerusalem.' "<5> 

The schoolmaster turned to his wife, 
and said, " My dear, do you hear what 
St. Gregory says V 

" But mark," I observed, " that it is ac- 
cording to the Holy Scriptures that he 
speaks ; for it is the Bible which declares 
all that Gregory repeats. It is also on the 
Word of God that Chrysostom, in the same 
century, relies, when he exclaims, ' Do 
not fix thine eyes on the ashes of holy 
bodies, or on their relics, or their bones, 
all which are consumed by time ; but open 
the eyes of faith, and see those servants 
of God dressed in the heavenly virtue and 
grace of the Holy Spirit, and shining in the 
divine light.'|| Again, it was on the Bible 
that Jerome founded his belief, in the fifth 
century, when, after having reminded his 
readers of the heathen custom of swearing 
by the relics of heroes, and of burning 
candles on their tombs, he reproves and 
censures the ' weak women who honored 
in the same way the sepulchres of the 
martyrs,' and tells them that, ' if they have 
zeal for God, they have it without discern- 
ment ; that Jesus needs not the perfumes 
with which his body was anointed, nor did 
the martyrs need the light of candles. 
For it was to the heart of Mary that Jesus 
looked, and not to her vase of ointment."^ 
' Let our confidence,' he says elsewhere, 
' be in the Lord alone, and not in man, nor 
in the deeds of men. " Cursed be the 
man," it is written, " who puts his trust in 



* Matth., XXV., 34-36. + Rev., ill., 20. 

X John, iii., 8. 

^ Gregor. Nys., Epist. (Chemm., vbi supra). 

II Chryst., In viii. Mach., Horn. 2. 

if Hieron., Adv. Vigil. (Chemra., ibid.). 



WORSHIP OF RELICS. 



1«5 



man," even were he a saint ; even were 
he a prophet, or a prelate of the Church ; 
for if they are faithful, they will indeed 
have their own souls saved, but theirs 
alone.'* Augustine, cotemporaneous with 
Jerome, speaks still more decidedly. ' No, 
do not imitate,' he says, ' the herds of the 
ignorant, who are superstitious in their 
worship. I have seen several of these 
people adore the tombs and pictures of the 
martyrs, and who, eating in honor of the 
dead, became themselves dead in their 
souls.' "t 

" This is positive !" said the school- 
master, again turning to his wife and 
daughters. 

" This also is positive," I continued : 
" ' But Christian women,' he adds, ' act not 
thus ; and such customs do not take place 
in faithful churches.' You see, then, my 
friends, that the Church of all ages, the 
Church of the Fathers, unwiUing to Hsten 
to and follow any thing but the Word of 
God, rejects herself this entirely heathen 
superstition." 

" Heathen, sir !" exclaimed the notary, 
spitefully. " Are we Catholics, then, noth- 
ing but vile heathens T" 

" Alas ! dear sir," I replied, " if the in- 
tention of the heart be different, the actions 
are certainly the same. The ancient pa- 
gans of Rome and Greece consecrated 
numerous altars to their heroes, whom 
they also called saints, and before whose 
statues or pictures they, too, burned incense 
or candles, reciting prayers or making 
vows. These same pagans had also their 
sacred relics. You doubtless know that at 
Rome they kept the stick with which they 
said Romulus had traced the inclosure of 
that city ; and which, moreover, by a won- 
derful miracle, remained uninjured in the 
midst of the fire of the Capitol. The 
Athenians also, Plutarch tells us, preserved 
embalmed, and worshiped solemnly, the 
body of their demi-god Theseus, whose 
sepulchre, unknown for a long time, had 
been discovered, they said, by an eagle 
which alighted on it. And why did these 
heathen preserve their relics ? Because 
they, of the same opinion as the Church of 
Rome,| regarded their heroes or demi- 
gods as their patrons, protectors, and 
guardians. They also invoked them in 
their oaths ; consecrated votive tablets 
and offerings to them; placed near their 
altars and temples vases filled with pure 
water — yes, my friends, real holy-water 
pots, whose holy water served for purify- 
ing the devotees, arid every thing else on 
which it was sprinkled. 

" I repeat, then, as you call yourselves 
Christians, be on the side of Christ, not on 



* Hieron., Com. in Ezek., 16. 
t August., De mor. eccL, lib. xxxiv. Id., De Civ. 
Dei, lib. viii., c. 27. 

t Cone. Trid., sess. xxv,, De cret. de inv. sanct. 
O 



that of idolaters. Why should you do, in 
a church where you invoke the Lord, ex- 
actly the same things as the Indians, for 
instance, do in their pagodas 1 Take care, 
then, lest you be found imitating Israel, 
when, ' forsaking the Lord and His Word,' 
which was like ' a fountain of living wa- 
ters' to that people, they had, by turning 
unto idols, ' hewed them out cisterns, bro- 
ken cisterns, that could hold no water.' "* 

I was heard attentively, and by the 
women particularly. I then continued, 
for a few moments, my affectionate exhor- 
tation ; then, having given the poor pil- 
grims a few little tracts on faith and gratu- 
itous salvation, I left them, directing them 
more than ever to the Bible : " For," I told 
them (and these were my parting words), 
" it is the Bible alone which is the truth ; 
and it is also because it reproves with, 
execration both relics and pilgrimages^ 
that it is refused to those whom these 
practices enslave, an(i whose offerings, at 
the same time, enrich the holy places, and 
those who dwell among them." 

Reader, I had seen and heard much in 
my visits to the Church of Rome. Her 
worship was, as it were, unfolded before 
me ; I had examined its principle, its sub- 
stance, and its results ; and, as you have 
just heard, my conclusion here, as in the 
first case, was, that the Bible had no com- 
munion with its worship ; that it opposes 
it ; that it rejects it, and that, consequently, 
I am absolutely forbidden to take any part 
in it. I have met, then, what I had fore- 
seen. I had not found in the Church of 
Rome the Revelation of salvation ; could I, 
then, find in it the Administration of that 
grace 1 No ; I have not seen it there \ 
Reader, shall I learn any better within its 
bosom how one may attain to the posses- 
sion of that salvation — of that life of God ? 



PART III 

PERSONAL POSSESSION OF SALVATION ; OR, THE 
PEACE OF GOD AND HOLINESS. 

CHAPTER L 

SALVATION BY GRACE. 

What is all the rest, reader, compared 
with the treasure last named ? What value 
could I place on a church, were it the old- 
est and most venerated, and were it to 
possess all the advantages of grandeur and 
prosperity, if in it my soul could not seize 
salvation, nor enjoy the peace of God, nor 
serve Him in love ? What definite answer 
shall I, then, give to the invitation of the 
Church of Rome, if, having already ascer- 
tained, as I have done, that she possesses 
neither divine antiquity, divine unity of 
faith, nor infallibility, and still less perma- 



* Jerem., ii., 13. 



106 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



nency, I now learn from her doctrines 
that in her I cannot either assure myself 
of salvation, or rejoice in my God, and give 
Him the obedience of fihal love ? This, 
then, is the decisive point for me ; for, as 
I cannot repeat too often, it is my salva- 
tion that it is important for me to know 
and possess ; and if the Church of Rome 
cannot satisfy me in this, what has she to 
induce me* to prefer her ; or, rather, how 
much has she that hinders my going to 
her! 

Such was always, both in the Middle 
Ages and at the epoch of the Reformation, 
the first and often the only expostulation 
which arose against the Church of Rome. 
Sometimes from the depths of solitudes 
and convents, at others from the interior 
of a college and from the pulpit, evangeli- 
cal voices were heard, which reproached 
Rome either with her ignorance of the 
vital truths of the faith, or with the dark 
instructions by which she obscured the 
light of the Bible. Thus, from the earliest 
ages, churches without literature either 
among the Apennines, or in the deep vales 
of the Alps, or in Illyria and Dalmatia, 
preserved, with the Bible, the truth of 
salvation by grace^ and perseveringly re- 
mained separate from Rome !* 

In the eighth century, the Venerable Bede, 
in the North of Europe, in Great Britain, 
opposing the Latin errors, taught that " sal- 
vation is a gift of grace, and that no man 
can merit it."t In the ninth century, Con- 
stantine, having acquired the knowledge of 
salvation by grace by reading the Gospel 
alone, instructed and gathered together 
other believers, who, under the name of 
Paulicians, preached, principally in Asia, 
the way of truth, gratuitous salvation, not- 
withstanding one hundred and fifty years 
of bloody pesecutions by the See of Rome. 
Their only book was the Bible ; and their 
only docrines, salvation by faith, and obedi- 
ence in love.X 

Again, Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, 
and Ratram, monk of Corbia, following 
the footsteps of the learned Rabanus and 
Scot-Erigenes,^ wrote against images and 
transubstantiation, and especially against 
the righteousness of works. Claudius, bish- 
op of Turin, also, whom history has called 
THE FIRST REFORMER, rejected all the Ro- 
mish superstitions, and preached power- 
fully " salvation only by the faith of the 
heart in Jesus, and without any merit of 
man."ll 

* Bost., Hist., mod. et anc, of the Bohemian and 
Moravian Ch. of the Unit. Breth., part 1., bk. i. (Bost., 
Hist., A. M.). Barth, Brief Hist, of the Church of Christ, 
per. ii., ch. 6. 

t Hist, of the Ch. of Chr. prev. to the Ref, vol. ill., 
p. 96, etc. {Hist. C. b. R.) 

X Hist. C. b. R., ninth century, ch. 2. 

<^ Eighth century. 

II Ibid., vol. ill., p. 169 and foil. Milner, Hist, 
of the Ch. of Chr., 1816, vol. iii., p. 211. 



In the tenth century, the martyrs of the 
Bible burned alive at Orleans by the 
Church of Rome, died giving witness to 
the truth of gratuitous salvation; while in 
England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
Anselm, a native of Piedmont, kept the 
lamp of the Gospel burning in the midst 
of the deepest night of error and supersti- 
tion,* and repeated salvation is by grace I 
In the tenth century, Adalbert, and espe- 
cially Theophilact, maintained that "man 
is justified by faith, and without any merit 
of his works."! Bernard, the austere Abbe 
of Clairvaux, defended, in the twelfth cen- 
tury, the basis of faith, gratuitous justifi- 
cation, against the subtilties of Abelard.J 
And yet this same Bernard knew not how 
to appreciate the true character of the 
Cathares, who, in Bohemia, in the environs 
of Cologne, in France, and other places, 
confessed in their " Noble Lesson," that 
"man cannot merit salvation," and who 
wilUngly died under the sword, or at the 
stakes in Rome, for this testimony of 
God.§ 

In the thirteenth century, there were no 
longer single voices, nor a few churches 
spread here and there, but whole tribes 
and nations, who, in the valleys of the 
north of Italy, in France, and even in 
Spain, resisted, with the Word of God, the 
Romish doctrine of the " merit of works," 
and who gave up their lives by thousands 
under the persecutions of the Church of 
Rome. II At the same time, Grosseteste, 
bishop of Lincoln, in England, powerfully 
resisted the popes and the doctrines of 
Rome, and multiplied his writings on the 
" gratuitousness of salvation without the 
works of man."^ The fourteenth century 
opened, and the Lollards, then Wickliff, 
Bradwardine, Thomas de la Mare, and the 
" Complaint of the Laborer," made the 
light of the Gospel shine, and they were 
rejected or persecuted, or perished by fire, 
for maintaining the " merits of the Saviour 
alone" in the salvation of the Church.** 
The fifteenth century begun with the 
light of stakes, where the Lollards of Eng- 
land died in celebrating the eternal life 
which God gives " gratuitously" in Jesus. 
John Huss and Jerome of Prague also gave 
their souls to God amid the flames, in 
which they were thrown by the Council 
of Constance, and after them the United 
Brethren of Bohemia were persecuted for 
the same testimony.ff 



* Hi.<it. C. b. R., etc., cent, ix., ch. 5. Milner, 
Hist., etc., vol. iii., p. 307. t Ibid., cent, x., ch. 4. 

t Milner, Hist., etc., p. 339. 

^ Id., xii., ch. 2. Muston, Hist, of the Wald., vol. 
i., bk. 2. Hist. C. b. R., vol. iii., p. 270. 

II Fox, Univers. Hist, of Christ. Martyrdom, Wal- 
denses and Albigenses. Crespin, Hist, of Albig., etc. 

5r Hist. C. b. R., vol. iv., p. 28. 

** Milner, cent. xiv. Hist. C. b. R., cent. xiv. 

tt Hist. C. b. R., vol. iv., p. 121, 154, 216, etc. 
Bost., A. M. Hist., fifteenth century. 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ONLY 



107 



Finally, the day of evangelical truth at- 
tained its perfection ; the apostolical doc- 
trine was given to the Church, and " gra- 
tuitous justification, by faith of the heart 
in Jesus only," was published to the na- 
tions by Luther, Brentius, Tyndal, Cran- 
mer, Latimer, Ridley, Bradford, Craig, 
Melaiicthon, Farel, Calvin, Beza, Knox, 
Bucer, OEcolampadius, Bullinger, Haller, 
and many other disciples and friends of 
the Bible, who were all in " unity of faith," 
^' infalhbility of faith," and " perpetuity of 
faith," because all were founded, in one 
same spirit, on the same and -only truth, 
which is the Word of God, and not the 
doctrines or pretensions of a church of er- 
ror.* That Word has not changed. It 
speaks now as in the days of the prophets 
or the apostles. It is, then, while open- 
ing it before me, that I address the Church 
of Rome, and put the same question that 
my brethren have asked during so many 
centuries : 

HOW CAN I POSSESS SALVATION 1 

and according to that unchangeable Word 
I shall examine her answer. 

This question, reader, has perhaps cre- 
ated the most numerous discussions and 
debates, not only between the Church of 
Rome and other churches, but between 
the different Romish doctors themselves. 
To it belong the most abstruse points of 
theology : the decrees of God ; election 
of grace ; vocation to salvation ; liberty 
of man; regeneration, faith, justification 
and sanctification of souls. 

The limits of the examination on which 
I now enter require me only to investi- 
gate whether salvation is, according to the 
Romish Church, entirely gratuitous, and ob- 
tained by faith alone; or whether man 
should " merif' it in any respect, or should 
" redeem his sins by meritorious satisfac- 
tions." This last doctrine the Church of 
Rome asserts ; she teaches the merits of 
works. She indeed says, that "in salvation 
all is grace ;" she also says that " man is jus- 
tified by faith, and that his sins are gratui- 
tously remitted by the divine mercy, and 
because of Jesus Christ's atonement ;" and 
thus far she speaks according to the Bible. 
But she adds that, " nevertheless, eternal 
life is a recompense which is faithfully giv- 
en to the good works of man, and to his 
merits, in virtue of the promise of grace 
which is in Jesus Christ."! She then 
positively says, that man " should work 
out his salvation by the exercise of his 
will, by the grace of God helping him ;" 
and she, consequently, uses the word merit 
as meaning " the worth, price, and dignity 
of these works, which man performs by 
the aid of grace. "J This doctrine is join- 



* Merle d'Aubigne, Hist of the Ref., etc., Preface. 
+ Bossuet, Expos, of the Doctr. of the Cath. Ch., 
art. vi. and vii. Cone. Trid., sess. vi., c. 9 and 16. 
t Ibid., art. vii., () 2 and 3. 



ed with two others equally important : the 
one, that he who possesses grace to-day 
can decline from it to-morrow, and perish 
at last ; the other, that man can never be 
certain, on earth, of his salvation. With 
these doctrines are connected- those of 
penance and absolution, and those of purga- 
tory and indulgences. I shall proceed to 
the examination of these. 

CONTRARY TESTIMONY. 

But, before going farther, it will be inter- 
esting to know what the Apostolical Fa- 
thers, and even som« of the doctors of 
Rome, thought as to the merit of works. 
Did they believe that faith in Jesus Christ 
is not sufficient to justify the sinner, and 
that it is necessary that man should annex 
to it his own merits! Their testimony 
appears unanimous here against the doc- 
trine of the Church of Rome. Let us list- 
en to it. 

"All believers," Clement (Roman) writes, 
"have been justified and glorified, not by 
their own works or just actions, but by the 
will of the Lord alone. It is through faith 
that our Almighty God justified His people 
from all eternity ; and not by their holi- 
ness, virtues, or merits. To Him, then, 
be the glory forever and ever. Amen!"* 
" By what means," asks Justin Martyr, 
" could we, impiously rejecting the Law, 
be justified, if not by the Son of God only ; 
and who could, except His justice, hide 
and cover up our sin Vj " It is not by 
the slavery of the Law," Tertullian writes, 
" but it is by the freeness of grace, that 
God justifies the sinner. The Law ceased 
to act from the moment that the voice of 
the Precursor was heard ; and faith, which 
makes us live, is from the same God who 
gave the Law, which could not justify. "J 
" Art thou a slave V asks Gregory of Nazi- 
anzen ; " then fear the blows. Art thou 
a hireling? then look at thy wages. But 
art thou a son ? then honor thy father. 
Do right, because it is a good thing to obey 
him ; and if thou receivest nothing else, 
even the knowledge that thou hast shown 
thyself submissive to thy father, will be 
thy recompense."!^ "If thou behevest," 
says Chrysostom, " what wouldst thou add 
to thy faith T as if faith alone could not 
justify. It is the glory of God to justify 
without works. The thief only believed, 
and was justified! Is it not admirable 
that the man most enriched with works 
and virtues, can yet be justified only by 
faith ?|| If, too, we could suffer a thousand 
deaths, and perform the most virtuous ac- 
tions, what could we offer to God, even by 
all that, which would be worthy of the grace 



I 



* Clem. Rom., ad Corinth., epist. i., 32. 
t Just. Mart., Epist. ad Diognet. (C. R.). 
X Tertul., adv. Marc, lib. v. 
\ Greg. Naz., De Sanct. Bapt. (Keary). 
II Horn. 3, in Epist. ad Tit. Horn, de fide et lege 
not., in cap. iii. et iv. ad Rom. 



JOS 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



which is bestowed upon us ?"* " Christ,'' 
says Hilary, '' unbound what the Law could 
not free ; for faitli alone justifies !"t " It 
is in this that we glory entirely in God," 
says Basil: " that we are justified only by 
faith in Jesus Christ, and in no way by 
our own righteousness. Eternal rest is 
the lot of those who have fought here be- 
low according to the Law ; but not because 
of their merits, but by the sole and mag- 
nificent grace of God. "J Ambrose is quite 
as positive when he says, "■ Believers are 
justified only by faith, the gift of God, with- 
out their having done or given any thing in 
return. It is faith which hides the misery 
of our works and the infirmity of our flesh. ^ 
Whence should I have any merit," he 
adds, " as mercy is my crown ? By what 
worthiness of man will this mortal body, 
which must see corruption, be robed with 
immortality ? What works, or what pa- 
tience can lessen our sin \ It is not, then, 
on our merit, but, truly, on the grace of 
God alone, that the heavenly decrees are 
founded. "II "Whatever were the virtues 
of the Fathers," says Augustine, "they 
were saved only by faith. He w^ho dies 
justified, preserves, not that which the 
merit of his works procured for him, but 
that which he received by grace. It is 
faith, and not works, which distinguishes 
the just from the unjust.^ For God crowns 
thee because He crowns His own gifts, 
not thy merits. The life of man is like a 
field inclosed with sins. Look, then, to 
the sacrifice of that blood spilt for the 
redemption of the guilty. For if Thou 
shouldst judge us, O Lord ! and shouldst 
require of us our merits, who could stand?** 
Now, if God loves us because of our merits, 
it is, then, a debt which he would pay us, 
and no longer grace ! Let not the man 
justified by grace say, then, I have mer- 
its. "ff " He who formed the world, and 
who placed man on it," says Cyril of Al- 
exandria ; " He who decked the sky with 
shining stars. He also raised Jesus up for 
us, so that He might be our righteousness, 
He who redeemed us gratuitously, and 
who erected the heavenly Jerusalem. "JJ 
" To whatever labors and fatigues," says 
Eusebius Emissenes, " we may have sub- 
jected our bodies or our souls, yet we can 
never do any meritorious action. Blessed- 
ness may be received, but it can never be 
merited. "^^ " Even though," says Agape- 



* Id., in Colos., Horn. 2. t Can. 8, in Matth. 

X Horn, de humil., in Psalm, cxiv. 

{) Comm. in Rom., c. iii. Lib. ii., De Jacob et vita 
beata, c. 2. 

II Id., ad Virg. exhort. Id., in Ps. cxviii. (Keary, 
Earl. Path.) 

% August., lib. i;, cont. duas Epist. Pelag., c. 21. 
Id., lib. iii., c. 5. QncBst., lib. Ixxxiii., 9, 76 (C. T.). 

♦* Epist., 194, ad Sextum, in Ps. cxlii., cxxix. 

If Serm., in nat. Joh. Bapt. 

tt Cyril Alex., Glaphyr., lib. ii., c. 5 (R. C). 

^^ Ad. Monach., Serm. 3. 



tes, " you should have as many good works 
as there are stars in the firmament, yet you 
could never equal the goodness of the Lord ; 
for as he who runs the fastest possible in 
the sunshine can never get beyond his own- 
shadow, so men will never surpass the in- 
comparable mercy of the Lord, to whom, 
if we come with some good deed, we bring 
nothing but His own mercies."* " How 
truly is it a grace," says Fulgentius ; " for 
not only does God place His gift on other 
gifts of His love, but that grace abounds 
even above all the unworthiness of our 
works. "t " True humility," Anastasius re- 
marks, " is to depend on nothing else than 
the mercy of God ; for were we to offer 
Him all that we are, what merit would we 
have thereby, as to Him all things belong, 
and from Him all things come 1"| " Every 
one," says Prosper, " must understand that 
it is not the price of our works which God 
gives us, but that it is the riches of His 
grace which he sends down upon us."^ 
" It is not of ourselves," Tfieodoret WTites, 
" that we have believed, but the calling of 
God brought us nigh to Him ; and when 
we approached him He did not require pu- 
rity and innocence of us, but he forgave our 
sins by the faith alone which we have re- 
ceived.! Besides, what comparison could 
there be between the contest and the crown? 
The things, also, that we hope for are not 
a recompense, but glory ; not wages, but 
grace."! 

And again, what says Pope Gregory? 
" It is neither in our sadness, nor in our 
works, but in our Advocate alone, that our 
confidence is placed. For what relation 
w^ould there be between the works of man 
and that heavenly bliss wherein we live 
with God, and by Him 1"** And what do 
other doctors, equally worthy of regard, 
declare ] " Let no man," says the Veyier- 
able Bede, " presume that even his will or 
his merits can lead him toward happiness ; 
but let him understand that the grace of 
God only has that power."tt " Lest Israel," 
Raban Maure writes, " should say that its 
merits made it to be accepted, the prophet 
declares that it was only by the will of the 
Lord that it was received, because all that 
comes to us from God is always a gift of 
His grace. "II " Let him who thirsts for 
righteousness," exclaims Bernard, " believe 
in Thee, O God ! in Thee, who dost justify 
the sinner, and by that faith alone he will 
obtain Thy peace. He gave it thee," he 
says to the believer ; " and gave it twice 
gratuitously, without thy merit, and with- 



* Ad Just., sect. 3 (Keary). 

t Ad Monim., lib. xviii., c. 1 (Id.). 

i Quaest., 135 (Keary) 

^ De Voc. gent., lib. i., c. 17 (Id.). 

II In Epist. ad Eph., c. ii. 

% Id., in Rom.,\m. 

** Horn. 7, in Ezek. Id., in Ps. Paenit., 7^ 

tt In Ps. Ixxvii. 

tX InJerem., lib. xviii., c. 1 (Keary). 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ONLY. 



109 



out thy works.* Do not trust, then, to 
thy works ; for it is but a ruinous wall. 
All thy merit is, to confide entirely in Him 
who saved man wholly. My merits are 
grace. They are numerous, for grace is 
inexhaustible."! " As a son who inher- 
its," Lyranus remarks, " differs entirely 
from the mercenary who is paid, in the 
same way the believer receives heaven ; 
not as a reward of his works, but as an in- 
heritance. "J " I refuse," declares Netter 
Waldensis, " to make use of the words con- 
dignity or congruity, which are employed 
in speaking of the works of the believer; 
for, in my opinion, he is the deepest theo- 
logian, the best Catholic, and the truest 
disciple of the Holy Scriptures, who de- 
nies all merit, and who owns that salvation 
is a gift ; and that is what all the saints 
and ancient doctors of the Universal Church 
have taught."*^ 

Are not these testimonies sufficient, read- 
er, to renew our confidence in the Holy 
Scriptures, and to prove to us conclusive- 
ly, that never, either in apostolical times, 
or by any of the fathers who adhered to 
the Bible, was the Romish doctrine of the 
merit of works adopted ■? It was never held 
at any time in the Church of God. As 
soon as a revelation of the love of the Lord 
toward man was heard on earth, it was the 
language of grace that it spoke. The 
promise of salvation which is in Jesus 
Christ was thenceforth the object of faith, 
and the merit of man was excluded from 
the thoughts and worship of the children of 
God. II Abel was justified by faith, and not 
by the works he performed. Enoch, Noah, 
Shem, Abraham, and all the patriarchs, 
walked by the same faith, founded on the 
same promise. When the Law was given, 
it was to grace, again, that it bore witness ; 
and David proclaimed it when he said by 
the Holy Spirit, " Blessed is he whose 
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is cov- 
ered !" — (Ps. xxxii., 1.) 

Such was from the beginning, such is, 
and will ever be the belief of the elect. 
Such, then, has been, since the origin of 
the world, the doctrine of the Church of 
God ; a doctrine which distinguishes it 
from the Church of Rome, as widely as the 
gift of munificence is opposed to a rewar-d 
in dischargmg a debt. When, therefore, 
the Church of Rome, as she now is, speaks 
of her antiquity, when she says, for in- 
stance, as she did in one of her last circu- 
lars,^ that '' the man of faith contemplates 
her with rapture as extending back to the 



* Bernard, Serm. inCant. Canic, xxii. ; Ser7n. xiv., 
in Psal. xci. 

t Id.. Serm. i., in Ann. B. Mar. Id., in Ps. xcl. 

X InJohann., X. (Keary). 

^ Wald., De Sacram., tit. i., c. 7 (Id.). 

II See the Divine Rights of Protestantism, etc., p. 35 
and foil. 

% Circular of the Archbishop of Paris, for Lent, in 
1838. 



first age of the world," one can only com- 
pare her to the Emperor Julian, who boa.st- 
ed of his apostolical behef while rebuilding 
Jerusalem and its temple. Her antiquity 
began in the heart of Cain, who, producing 
his works, opposed ihefailh of Abel, which 
was quite as ancient as the unbelief of his 
brother. Now, who would boast of being 
connected with the " first age of the world," 
if it renders him a follower of Cain ! No, 
it is not the merit of works which Scripture 
teaches. What it says is, that the man 
who rests on it in the least degree, " makes 
shipwreck of faith," that " Chirst profiteth 
him nothing," and that he is " fallen from 
grace."* Here the Word is divine, as in 
all other things ; that is, it is complete, one, 
invariable, and refuses quite as much to ac- 
knowledge that man can merit any thing, 
as to say that man aided in the creation of 
the world, or in giving motion to the uni- 
verse. For the one is^f God quite as 
much as the other. The same Word that 
said to the light, Be I when as yet it was 
not, says to life. Be I when the soul of the 
sinner is still dead. The creation of God 
is the same forever. It is always of Him 
absolutely, whether that which is called 
the universe, or that which is called grace. 
Yes, reader, the Bible here shows itself de- 
cided. The faith of the Spouse of Jesus, 
in the sovereign grace of her God, is her 
chastity ; as soon as she loses sight of this 
grace, and turns her eyes toward the mer- 
it of her works, so soon is she accused of 
adultery ; and it is for that reason that the 
unfaithful church which attributes merit to 
the works of man, and assigns a recom- 
pense for them, is called in the Holy Scrip- 
tures by the name of a prostitute. f Let 
this eternal principle be, then, placed before 
our eyes, and let it be written and fixed in 
the bottom of our hearts : " Salvation is by 
grace, through faith ; it is not of man, nor 
of his works, lest any man should boast."t 

Let, then, the soul which fears the Lord, 
and would obey Him, abhor any other doc- 
trine than this, that Jesus is a perfect Sav- 
iour, and not an aid only. Yes, a Saviour, 
and a Saviour who is God ; that is, who is 
unique, and consequently complete, im- 
mense, inexhaustible. Let him, then, who 
thinks seriously, and who, believing that 
after death follows God's judgment, would 
escape the condemnation which sin merits, 
that " wrath to come" of which Scripture 
speaks so often, let such a man listen to 
what the Gospel says of grace, and, receiv- 
ing it in his heart, he shall indeed have 
life. 

"God," it is written, "who is rich in 
mercy, for his great love wherewith He 
loved us," established, from all eternity, 
Jesus Christ as the victim of " propitiation 



* Gal., V. 

t Musculus, Loci comm., tit. xxx., 379. Rev. 
xvii., L t Eph., ii., 8, 9. 



110 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



through faith in His blood," so that whoso 
beheveth in Him may be justified before 
God, and tliat, in the peace of salvation, he 
may rejoice in the sure hope of eternal life. 
That is to say, reader, Jesus is placed by 
God before man as the only and inexhavst- 
■ible treasure of pardon and life, which is 
found in the Saviour-God, and the Holy 
Spirit tells him, Believe in thine heart on 
Him, and thou shalt possess it. 

" Provided thou doest the works also," 
adds the Church of Rome ; " and if thou 
dost deny it, thou art accursed."* 

" No, no !" replies the Gospel. " Salva- 
tion is the gift of God ; works are the con- 
sequence of it, by the Holy Spirit ; and to 
say that they are a condition of it is false- 
hood and perdition. So that, on the one 
hand, a soul has no reason to keep aloof 
from Jesus because it has no merits ; and, 
on the other, when, by faith, it has receiv- 
ed its pardon, wi^ the peace of God, it 
cannot glory in it, for it has not merited it 
by any work or virtue, but has received it 
as a gift ; and if it glories, it is in the Lord ; 
in the immense love of the Father, in Je- 
sus Christ." If you ask, reader, why the 
Church of Rome presents so formal an op- 
position of doctrine on a subject which 
appears so simple, here is the answer : 

The Church of Rome does not consider 
the death of the Lord Jesus as having been 
the whole expiation, absolute and eternal, 
of the sins of the Church ; and she has add- 
ed two or three errors to it. 1st. That 
the Saviour died indiscriminately for all the 
human race, and for each man separately, 
as well as for all together.! 2d. That His 
death was rather an authentic testimony 
of the truth of His doctrine and the proph- 
ecies of the Old Testament, than a satis- 
faction offered to the justice of the law of 
God. I Whence it results that this Church 
does not perceive that the soul for whom 
the Son of God was slain and cursed, was 
completely redeemed by Him; and that, 
consequently, it is contradictory to admit 
that this soul has any thing to do or to 
merit, in order that its redemption may 
take place, as it was perfectly accomplish- 
ed by a Saviour slain for it. and who had 
identified Himself with it. And by this er- 
ror we can farther see that the divinity of 
the Lord Jesus is, in fact, disregarded by 
the Church of Rome ; for it is evident that 
God performs only infinite works, as He 
Himself is infinite. But the work of Christ 
was not infinite, if it is necessary that the 
sinner, to be saved, should add something 
to it ; therefore, the Saviour is not God, as 
His work is not perfect. The Church of 
Rome does not see this consequence, for 
she openly professes to believe in the ab- 
solute divinity of the Saviour. But this 

* Cone. Trid., sess. vi., can. 9. 

t Bellarm., De Missa, lib. ii., c. 2. 

t Bellarm., De Christi anima, lib. iv., c. 8. 



profession is contradicted by this particu- 
lar doctrine : as she considers salvation 
accomplished in Jesus " only so far as 
some will, or disposition, or merit of man 
shall be joined with it, co-operating with 
grace." 

This assertion will appear still more de- 
cisive when we come to examine the sub- 
ject of absolution, in treating of penance. 
For the present, I hear the Church of 
Rome tell me " that I must believe, on pain 
of anathema,* that my works of obedience 
concur (though by the grace of God in me) 
with grace itself, in order that I may hope 
for salvation ; that I can be justified only 
so far as my heart is ready to keep the 
commandments of God ; and the weight of 
my sins cannot be taken away by faith, 
except after the sacrament of penance has 
already remitted them."t 

But I answer her, " that not only is this 
doctrine repulsive, but, moreover, it ap- 
pears as different from the revelation of 
God's love in Jesus, as the law of Sinai is 
from the Gospel, at the same time that, in 
my eyes, it dishonors the Lord. Yes, it 
dishonors Him. For where is the love, the 
power, and the glory of the Father, if He 
gave me but an incomplete salvation in 
Jesus'? Where is perfect love, sovereign 
power, victory over Satan in the Son, if 
He only redeemed me in part 1 Where is 
the creative and perpetual efficacy of the 
Holy Spirit, if it is to my weakness and to 
my own deeds that it leaves me, were it 
only on a single point 1 And not only 
does this doctrine dishonor the Lord, but 
it is also distressing to my heart. For 
what rest can I ever know, if, to possess it, 
I must deserve it "? Where shall I procure 
what is necessary to render me worthy in 
God's presence 1 Where shall I find even 
the first volition of holiness, for I am dead 
in sin, says the Scripture, though the 
Church of Rome asserts the contrary ]+ 
If, then, God requires of me the least thing, 
in order that I may obtain salvation, were 
it but to raise a finger, how shall I do it of 
my own strength, I who am dead ; or how 
shall I be ever sure that I have raised it 
precisely to the height desired 1 And as 
the law of God is perfect, how will an av- 
erage of obedience subsist before it ] If, 
instead of this little thing, some great duty 
is required of me by the law ; if ' it is to 
love God with my whole heart, and my 
neighbor as myself,' alas ! what will be- 
come of me 1 for (though the Council of 
Trent curses me for what I say^) it is im- 
possible for me ever to attain perfectly 
that height of obedience." 



* Cone. Trid., sess. vi., can. 26. Bossuet, Exposi- 
tion, etc., art. vii. 

t Catech. Cone. Trid., pars HI, C. 1, art. 15, nota. 
Ibid., pars iv., c. 14, art. 26, tiota. 

X Cone. Trid., sess. vi., can. 4. 

^ Id., sess. vi.,can. 18. 



ASSURANCE OF SALVATION. 



Ill 



CHAPTER II. 

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION. 

I CAN, then, never know definitely wheth- 
er God has forgiven me, and never can I 
call Him my Father, without immediately 
apprehending that He will contradict me ! 
For, reader, 1 certainly hear this in that 
terrible decision of the Council of Trent: 
" If any one saith that the justified and re- 
generated man can be certain, by faith, of 
being one of the elect, let him be anathe- 
ma !"* Anathema ! Church of Rome ! when 
the Scriptures, and the Spirit of my God, 
pronounce on me the blessing of a Father, 
a Redeemer, and a Comforter! Anathe- 
ma! when that Word of His grace tells 
me, "I have written these things to you 
who believe in the name of the Son of 
God, that ye may know that ye have eter- 
nal life!'' Anathema! when the Saviour 
tells me again, in His infallible w^ords, 
" Verily, verily, he that believeth in me 
hath everlasting life," and shall not come 
into condemnation ! Ah ! what shall I 
then do with that sweet and certain effi- 
cacy of the " Spirit of adoption which 
beareth witness with my spirit that I am 
a child of God, and whereby we cry. Fa- 
ther!'"! What, then, shall 1 do with the 
prayer which my Saviour taught me, and 
which begins with these words of confi- 
dence and complete certainty : Father, 
which art in heaven ? Must I, then, contra- 
dict the apostles, who tell me that now I 
am a son of God, that I should glory in 
the Lord, and rejoice with joy unspeaka- 
ble and full of glory, receiving the end of 
my faith, even the salvation of my soul 1% 

TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS. 

Must I, then, finally, cherish opinions 
contrary to those of all believers who have 
seen in the Scriptures, and have possessed 
for themselves that " assurance" which 
the Church of Rome curses, and, particu- 
larly, must I condemn the Fathers, who 
teach it to me ] For Cyprian says to me, 
"What mean this anxiety, these doubts, 
and this sadness ! If thou hast faith, art 
thou not just l and if thou art just, dost ' 
thou not also live by faith, and shouldst 
thou not believe that thou shalt be with 
Christ, and thus take hold of God's prom- 
ises ]" And elsewhere, " What ! God has 
promised thee immortality, and thou dost 
doubt, and thou art undecided! To act 
thus is not to have known God : it is mak- 
ing Christ the minister of sin ; it is ' hav- 
ing only a wavering faith,' in the very 
house of faith. "^ And Chrysostom also 
says, " Why art thou cast down, and why 
fearest thou, as if thou hadst not the im- 
mense love of thy God for a warrant ] Has 



* Id., sess. vi., can. 15 et 16. Bellarm., DeJustif., 

lib. v., c. 3, 4, etc. t Rom., viii., 15, 16. 

% 1 John, ill., 2, 1 Cor., i., 31. Rom., v., 2. 1 

Pet., i., 8. § Semi, de mart., iv. 



His love to thee either- limit or end ■?"* 
And Ambrose adds, "What God has prom- 
ised His dear children, He wishes also His 
dear children to possess."! And in what 
terms does Augustine come to strengthen 
and console me 1 " All thy sins shall be 
forgiven thee," he says ; "therefore stop not 
at thy works, but at the grace of Christ. 
This is not presumption ; it is faith. To 
proclaim what one has received is not 
pride ; it is devotion. Why, then, shouldst 
thou speak, trembling, of a thing wherein 
thou art not even allowed to doubt ?"J 
Does not TertulUan tell me, "Faith is a 
full certainty of salvation T"^ And does 
not Hilary tell me, "If faith is uncer- 
tain, and hopes for the kingdom which is 
in Jesus only in trembhng, where, then, is 
justification r'll And is it with fear that 
Gregory Nazianzen exclaims, " Who is 
he who doubts, if he repents or is convert- 
ed, and thus abandons the blessing] As 
for me, I have evidence that I am thus, 
and I testify that the divine mercy is cer- 
tain. "T[ Finally, does not one of the holy 
fathers of the Church of Rome, Gregory 
I., teach that he who loves the heavenly 
Jerusalem, knows, without the least doubt, 
that he is a citizen of it T** The apostle 
was sure of this, who told us, " We know 
that if our earthly house of this tabernacle 
were dissolved, we have a building of God, 
a house, not made with hands, eternal in 
the heavens. "ft " Some persons exclaim," 
he says farther, " Who can be sure that 
he is one of God's elect ? What ! does 
not the Lord place the pledges of His love 
in the behever] Would He leave him 
without a testimony on His part ! What 
rest could our soul have, so long as it 
could not possess this witness of its elec- 
tion T Does not the Spirit of God speak in 
me \ Is it not by it that I say to God, My 
Father ! Let the assurance of the believ- 
er, then, be like that of the lion ; let it, 
when it sees any enemy who threatens it, 
have confidence in this, that he cannot but 
conquer, as he loves Him whom he can 
never lose of his own will."JJ And still 
another of these saints, one of the first 
doctors of the Church of Rome, Bernard, 
Abbe of Clairvaux, also tells me, "There, 
are three things on which all my hope 
rests : the love of adoption, the truth of 
the promise, and the power of redemption. 
Now, let a senseless imagination murmur 
within me, and ask me, ' What is this arro- 
gance 1 Who art thou, that thou shouldst 
thus hope in thy merits V As for me, I 
know in whom I have believed ; that He 
has adopted me, that he is true, and that 



* In V. cap. Epist. ad Rom. f Epist. ad Rom., c. v. 
X De Verbo Dam., serm. xxviii., in Ps. ixxxviii. 
^ In libro de Bapt. || In cap. v. Matth. 

% In Orat. cons, de Calam. 

** Greg. J., Moral., lib. i., c. 1, in 1 Reg. : Quam 
familiariter diligit, etc. \-\ 2 Cor., v., 1. 

X% Id., lib. xxxi., c. 23. 



11-2 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



he is powerful. Here is the triple cord, 
which it would be hard to break."* 

Reader, judge ; if I cannot deny the 
Scriptures, is it any easier for me to con- 
tradict these testimonies, which are all 
founded on God's Word, to which, also, all 
give glory I And yet it is to unite in this 
double denial that the Church of Rome 
calls me when she says. Come unto me ! I 
cannot, then, comply with her invitations ; 
for, as you see, I must, to do this, silence 
the voice of the grace of my God ; I must 
contradict the Spirit of adoption which 
speaks in my heart ; I must also cease 
praying as my Saviour teaches me, and I 
must openly tell the Apostolical Church 
that it has believed nothing but a lie. 



CHAPTER HI. 

FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 

And this is not all ; for a new anathema 
is heard against him who will say " that 
the believer cannot perish, and that the 
justified man is sure of being so forever, 
and shall never decline from grace. "f It is, 
then, against the very Spirit of the Lord that 
Ihis curse is threatened ; for it is He who 
tells Zion to rejoice with great gladness ; 
not to fear, but to strengthen herself in 
her God, who hath betrothed her in faith- 
fulness, who will not put her away, and 
who hath loved her with all His heart and 
all his soul. I That Spirit is, then, cursed 
by the Church of Rome, which says to the 
faithful soul, that He has sealed him unto 
the day of redemption; that God, who 
hath begun a good work in him, will per- 
form it until the day of Jesus Christ ; that 
He that spared not His own Son for him, 
will also give freely all things to him ; 
that none shall pluck him out of the hands 
of the Good Shepherd, his Redeemer ; that 
neither law nor judge can lay any thing to 
the charge of God's elect ; that he may be 
persuaded that neither life, nor death, nor 
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
things present, nor things to come, nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, 
shall be able to separate him from the love 
of God, which is in Christ Jesus, his Lord !^ 

For, finally, such is the character of 
the Gospel. It does not announce a semi- 
salvation to sinful man ; but a grace com- 
plete in its substance, which is the hfe 
of God ; in its extent, which is the love 
of God ; and in its duration, which is the 
very omnipotence and eternity of God. 
And it not only reveals this grace by the 
Word, but, moreover, it seals and certi- 
fies it by the Holy Spirit, accompanying 
it with the deep, ineffable, and complete 



* Defrag. Sept. miser., Seriiio lii (C. T.). 

t Cone. Trid., sess. vi. Bellarm., De Justif., lib. 
iii., c. 14. 

t Jer.,xxxii.,40. Hosea.ii., 19. Is.,x]ix. ,lii.,etc. 

(j Eph., i., 14. Phil., 1., 6. 1 Cor., i., 6. Rom., 
viii., 31. John, x., 28, 29. Rom., viii., 32-38. 



celestial feeling of the peace of God, and 
the sure expectation of the glory to come. 

TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS. 

This, also, is what the Apostolical 
Church saw in the Scriptures and pro- 
fessed. 

Cyprian tells us that, " as the good grain 
is not thrown out of the winnower's van, 
and as the storm does not tear up the strong- 
rooted tree, so those whom the tempest 
or the whirlwind takes away from the 
Church, are only those of whom the apos- 
tle speaks when he says, 'They went 
out from us, but they were not of us.'"* 
" What !" says Ambrose ; " could the Fa- 
ther take away his grace from those whom 
He has once adopted ! Could Jesus Christ 
condemn him whom He has redeemed, and 
to whom, by His death. He gave life '."f 
" No !" says Chrysostom ; " it is not in 
the things of God as in those of men. 
Though a king of this world may lose his 
kingdom, or death take him from it, noth- 
ing can take the treasures of grace from 
you," etc. J 

And what are we told by Augustine, who 
presents to us a whole book on the Perse- 
verance of the Saints ^ " The faith of the 
elect," he says, " is never-failing ; for if it 
has any weakness, it is re-established be- 
fore the end of this earthly life ; those, 
also, who do not persevere have never been 
separated from the mass of men by God's 
election. For the saints who are predes- 
tined to the possession of the kingdom, 
are not only called to persevere, but they, 
moreover, receive the gift of persever- 
ance," etc. 

And in what terms, also, does that Greg- 
ory the Great, as Rome calls him, whose 
writings must be like so many oracles to 
her, speak to me 1 Reader ! hear him ; 
and see if Rome can now rest on the de- 
cisions of that pope, whom she neverthe- 
less invokes as a saint, and whom she 
honors as an infallible successor of an 
apostle. "He who redeemed his own," 
he saj^s, "never leaves them alone. He 
knows when to allow the tempest to rise, 
and when to repress it- If He sends the 
torrent, it is that the faith of the elect may 
be exercised, and the waves of trouble 
may wash him, but cannot drown him."^ 
" The Lord," he also says, " so rules and 
moderates the temptations of the adver- 
sary, that He prevents their happening in 
too great number ; He never lets any come 
nigh, save those which His child will be 
able to bear ; and though their flames make 
him suffer, yet can they never consume 
him. "II " Those only," he adds, " who are 
not among the elect, seem to believe and 

* De Unit. Eccl., Epist. 55 ad Cornel., T. C, bk. 
11., p. 2~. t De Jac. et vita beata, lib. i. 

X III cap. V. Epist. ad Rom. 

^ Greg. I., Moral, lib. xxvlli., c. 7. Inter hcBC 
etiam, etc. 11 Id., ibid., lib. xxix., c. 12. 



FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 



113 



seize the kingdom merely in appearance.'** 
*' For that kind of gold which, by the ar- 
tifices of Satan, is trodden under foot like 
mud, was never gold in the Lord's sight. 
Wherefore let the elect, seeing the fall and 
ruin of carnal men, learn from their ex- 
ample to trust in Him who from heaven 
upholds them."f What good words, read- 
er ! How strong is this faith, so simple 
and firm, and how it honors Him by whom, 
from whom, and for whom are all things ! 
Let us also listen for a few moments to the 
words of St. Bernard, who, more than all 
others, extols its power. 

" If by the dawn of the Sun of Righteous- 
ness in our souls," he says, in one of his 
letters,! " the secret of our election, which 
till then was hidden, is manifest, the soul 
which is thus visited by God soon learns 
that He who has already justified it, will 
also glorify it. It is then received in grace ; 
it increases in it ; shall it, then, doubt of the 
fulfillment of this work 1 Oh, man !" he 
adds, " it is the Spirit which makes thee 
know, after having justified thee, and which 
reveals to thee beforehand that blessed- 
ness which the eternal purpose of God has 
prepared for thee. Thou knowest that 
thou art the child, not of anger, but of 
grace ; and if thou art tried, it is by the 
paternal tenderness of God, whose beloved 
and chosen one thou art declared to be." 

It is not, then, in ambiguous terms that 
the fathers have professed this belief: the 
Christian cannot fail of salvation. As to 
the hypocrite, they have spoken of him as 
the Scriptures speak, which say that the 
gate shall be shut before him, and his por- 
tion shall be with hars.^ But as to the be- 
liever, it is, you see, reader, wilh multi- 
plied and sure promises that the Word of 
God encourages and consoles him, and it 
is He, by whose blood he was redeemed, 
who says to him, I am able to keep that 
which thou hast compiitted unto me, and 
to give thee the crown of righteousness 
laid up for all those that love my appear- 

What a loss, then, must I sustain before 
I enter the Church of Rome ! For I can- 
not present myself to her if I am anathe- 
matized; and to escape being so, I must re- 
nounce what now constitutes the life, the 
rest, and the hope of my soul ! 1 must 
cease believing that God loves me, that 
Jesus is my Redeemer, that the Spirit of 
God is with me ; in a word, that the Bible 
is the truth ! That is to say, I must " for- 
sake the faith as I have learned it,"Tf and, 
from being justified as I am by it, become 



* Greg. I., Moral, hb. xxv., c. 8. Propheta intuens, 
etc. 

t Ibid., lib. xxxiv. c. 13. Aurum quod pravis, etc. 

X Epist., 107. 

^ Job, viii., 13 ; xiii., 16 ; xv., 34 ; xxvii., 8. Matth., 
.xxiii., 13. Rev., xxi., 8. t| 2 Tim., i, 12; iv., 8. 

T 2 Tim. iii., 14. 



' again a condemned sinner ; from being the 
" adopted child in Christ" that I am by it, 
I must become a mere slave of the Law ; 
from being a " citizen of heaven," and, by 
hope, " an heir of God, and joint heir with 
Christ,"* I must become a poor, miserable 
mortal at best ; perhaps agreeable to God, 
perhaps accursed ; and who, in every re- 
spect, cannot only never find or allow my- 
self a moment of joy in my Saviour, nor a 
single thanksgiving' to the Father for my 
salvation,! but who, by humility, and to 
obey the Church, must prepare, first, to sat- 
isfy here below for my sins by painful ob- 
servances, and then to descend, for a long- 
er or shorter time, into an intermediate 
hell, to expiate those of my faults which 
I may not have effaced by my virtues here. 
Oh, what a frightful change ! My whole 
being recoils at it. My spirit disowns it, 
for the Bible shows its falsity. My heart 
is repugnant to it, for it must then leave 
the Saviour. My soul rejects it, for the 
Spirit of adoption and of hope keeps me 
from thinking of it ; and my body even ab- 
hors it, because it sees afliictions in it now, 
and torments hereafter. 

I cannot, then, no, I cannot consent to 
what the Church of Rome requires of me 
as regards the possession of my salvation. 
She off"ers it to me mixed with doubts, and 
on the condition of my efforts, my works, 
my merits ; but God gives it to me gratu- 
itously in Jesus. Glory be to God ! and 
unto me, peace and joy by His Spirit! 
She tells me that my obedience and sacri- 
fice will perhaps obtain some recompense ; 
but God hath given me all things in Jesus. 
Hallelujah ! Yes, His Spirit teaches me 
to do by love the works which He orders 
me to do, as His dear child, adopted in 
Christ, and that eternally. She tells me, 
finally, that if I persevere and die in a state 
of grace, I shall not be damned ; but God 
hath told me that there is no uncertainty 
in my salvation, and that it is not I who 
keep and retaiii the grace of my Lord, but 
that it is H^^ who, " having loved me with 
an everlasting love, will not forget His 
faithfulness, nor abandon me ;" that thus, 
then, " His love is without variableness, 
that His gifts and calling are without re- 
pentance ; that, as He predestinated me in 
the election of His grace in Jesus, called 
me with an efficacious calling, by His 
Spirit and His Word, and justified me free- 
ly by faith. He will also surely sanctify 
me, and, finally, will take me to His eternal 
kingdom, and will glorify me."| 

It is, then, impossible that I should com- 
ply with the wishes of Rome ! No, I can- 
not change my peace, and my hving hope 
for the doubts and despair which my own 



* Rom., viii., 17. f Col., i., 12. 

I James, i., 17. 1 Pet., i., 5, G, &c. Rom., xi., 
29 ; viii., 23-38. 2 Thess., u., 1. Jude, 24. 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



114 

works would give me.* No, Jesus is too 
precious to my lieart for me to leave Him ! 
What do I say 3 Ah ! it is not I, 1 repeat 
(and I cannot say so too often), it is not 1 
who have known Him, who have chosen 
Him, who have married my Saviour; it is 
He Himself who has loved, and will ever 
love me ! Yes ! the union of the Good 
Shepherd with His sheep is an eternal one ! 
If, then, the Church of Rome wishes me to 
be on her side, she must, I see it, and 1 tell 
her so, she must also come and throw her- 
self into the arms of Jesus. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PENANCE. 

" Presumptuous assurance !" exclaims 
that Church, reproving me. " Fatal delu- 
sion, which will not end, save by the most 
fearful condemnation ! Carnal security, 
which rests on an entirely imaginary par- 
don, which no holiness ever merited, and 
which the sacrament of penance, by apostol- 
ical absolution, never ratified in the Church !" 

That is, reader, the Church of Rome de- 
clares that, " as we cannot participate in 
the merits of Jesus Christ's satisfaction, 
save as far as we participate in His suJEFer- 
ings, we must, before enjoying the peace 
of God, and the benefits of the ' absolution' 
of our sins, have made satisfaction our- 
selves here below for what the law re- 
quires, making reparation for the injury 
our sins have done to God."t This in- 
cludes many things, both concerning the 
nature of sin, and of repentance, and espe- 
cially the right of remitting sins, which 
the Church of Rome assumes ; on all of 
which her doctors are very far from agree- 
ing among themselves. I will not enter, 
then, into the interior of those " depths," 
in which souls are held by bonds which the 
Word of God only can describe, as it alone 
also can break, but will confine myself to 
a single point of observation. You have 
just heard that assertion which the whole 
Gospel of grace, and all the con&oling dec- 
larations of the Holy Spirit to believers 
contradict : " Thou canst," says the Church 
of Rome, " participate in the merits of the 
satisfaction of Christ only so far as thou 
sharest in His sufi'erings." It follows, 
then, that when, in His infinite love, the 
Son of God, charged with my sins, sus- 
tained in Himself the eternal pain which 
they merited under the Law, and thus " was 
wounded for our transgressions, bruised 
for our iniquities, stricken of God, and 
smitten" with the sword of the Lord of 
HostSjJ as Zechariah says, all these pains 



* Turrelt., De necess. secess., disp. i., () 38. 

t Abridg. of Catech., etc., lessan 44. Bellarm., 
De Sacram., lib. ii., c. 28. De Pcenit, lib. i., c. 10 
and 15. Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., De Paznit 
Sacram. Conc. Trid., sess. xiv., c. 3. 

% Is., liii., 4, 5. Zech., xiii., 7. 



and sorrows, and this sacrifice of the soul 
and body of the Son of God, were nothing ; 
were only ideal, conditional, or, if I may 
so speak, unsubstantial as the air ! Thus, 
that agony, that sweat of blood, and that 
terrible death of the cross, were without 
any relation to my soul, for which Christ 
can have suffered or done any thing, only 
after I, in future ages, shall have satisfied 
Jirst, permitting Him afterward to satisfy 
secondly ; rendering, in fine, by my works, 
His death eff"ectual for my salvation ! ! 
What philosophy is this, that the efficient 
cause of a product becomes such only 
when its object has passed through a con- 
dition which proceeds from itself ? What 
logic is that by which a benefactor says to 
the unhappy being whom he wishes to help, 
Yesterday I discharged your debt fully ; 
but, nevertheless, it will not be paid till 
you thank me. 

I am answered, " But if the favor is con- 
ditional, must not the condition precede it 
in order that it may take place V 

Certainly, I reply. But then the bene- 
factor should not say, I discharged your 
debt yesterday. Let him rather say, I will 
acquit it, if you do what 1 require of you. 
If, then, the Bible had said, Christ shall be 
wounded for your transgressions, and bruis- 
ed for your iniquities, after that you shall 
have participated in His sufferings, then I 
should understand what the Church of 
Rome teaches, and I would say, with her, 
that I must, in fact, satisfy the Law my- 
self, before participating in the benefits of 
the death of Christ. But if, on the con- 
trary, the Bible says that Christ " was made 
a curse for me, and that the chastisement 
of my peace was upon Him ;"* that thus 
these are things already accomplished, how 
will you have me see a future condition 
connected with a redemption already fin- 
ished, and how should I call any thing else 
than folly the obligation imposed on me 
oi deserving that that' should be done which 
is done ; or to do any thing which will give 
that redemption, already made and com- 
pleted, its effective power and reality ? 

Assuredly, if the Son of God deigned, in 
His ineffable love, Himself to suffer what 
I, a sinner, should have suffered, was His 
suffering incomplete or insufficient in any 
respect 1 If He, to save my soul from 
hell, was wilUng to go thither Himself,, 
drinking to the dregs the cup of the curse 
of the Law, did He not, indeed, know its 
bitterness ; or was it only figuratively that 
He said " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, 
even unto death," and exclaimed, "My 
God! my God! why hast thou forsaken 
me V And if, finally, as it is written, " He 
rose from the dead for my justification," 
was it only partially that my soul arose 
with Him, and was justified in Him, in the 



Gal., iii., 13. Is., liii., 5. 



PENANCE. 



115 



purposes of Godi To say that it were 
otherwise, I mean, that the sacrifice of 
Jesus did not entirely and forever ransom 
the Church, is to take its very reality from 
that work, and at length to regard it, as 
certain heretics did, as chimerical, and only 
figurative.* 

Therefore, when, according to His eter- 
nal gracoj God led me to Jesus, when He 
revealed to me His love in Him, and when 
He gave me heartfelt belief in that Al- 
mighty Saviour, it was not then that 
Christ redeemed me ; it was done already. 
But then God made me know it ; then God 
made me believe it ; then God effectually 
justified me by imputing to me, through 
faith (listen, reader of the Church of 
Rome !), all the work of Jesus Christ, and, 
consequently, all the satisfaction that He, 
a Saviour, not an aid, rendered to the Law 
instead of and for His people. Then I 
saw and believed that I " have redemption 
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of His grace," who 
forgave me " all trespasses, blotting out 
the handwriting of ordinances that were 
against me ;" and that thus " Jesus by Him- 
self purged me of my sins, from which He 
washed me in His precious blood, having 
taken them all on His own soul."t If I am 
told that this relates only to eternal suffer- 
ing, but that " temporary suffering must be 
sustained by me," and that even this is one 
of the dealings of God's love,J the Scrip- 
ture opposes it when it tells me that even 
my body is the " temple" of the Spirit of 
adoption, and by that Spirit I daily say to 
my Father, " Forgive me, even as I for- 
give."^ It is, then. His pardon, and in no 
manner either my alms, my prayers, my 
fastings, II my austerities, or my macera- 
tions, which take away my sins, because 
Christ satisfied for me in every way, and 
without reserve. My debt was, then, paid 
by a generous friend ; but I was ignorant 
of it. That friend made me know it ; and 
then only, but nevertheless then, I was 
placed in possession of all which that love 
had already done for me, and of which it 
assures me when it tells me that " He will 
remember mine iniquity and my sin no 
more," that " my transgressions shall not be 
mentioned ; for He has blotted them out as 
a thick cloud ;" that " He has covered then?, 
and cast them into the depths of the sea- "U 

Such is the salvation that Christ has 
wrought by Himself for His Church. And 



* They called themselves Aphtar/hodocetes. Ni- 
ceph (815), lib. xviii., c. 29. 

t Eph., i., 6, 7. Col., ii., 14. Heb., i., 2. Rev., 
i., 5. 1 Pet., ii., 24. Is., liii., 10. 

X Exposition, etc., art. viii. Abridg. ofCatech., etc., 
lesson 44. 

{) 1 Cor., vi., 19. Rom., viii., 9. Matth., vi., 12. 

II Catech. Cone. Trid., art. 86, et seq., De Pcenit. 
Abridg. ofCatech., etc., lesson 44. 

f Jer., xxxi., 34. Ezek., xviii., 22. Is., xliv., 22. 
Micah, vii., 1^. Ps. xxxii., 1. 



you see, reader, that the remark I made 
above is here confirmed, viz., that all these 
doctrines of the Church of Rome, which 
depart from the doctrine of grace, have 
this fundamental error for their principle — 
that Jesus Christ did not effectually expi- 
ate the sins of the Church by His death, 
and that " He will not have done it, except 
so far as the Church first satisfies for part 
of the debt." What reasoning ! What a 
defective understanding of the Word of 
God, or, rather, what a denial of the Sav- 
iour's sacrifice ! And thus it is that, while 
confessing the eternal divinity of the Son 
of God, and while resisting the Unitarians, 
who deny it, the Church of Rome main- 
tains, respecting the Saviour's death, pre- 
cisely the same doctrine with the Unitari- 
an school ! How true it is, then, that the 
plant of error can assume different aspects, 
but that, whatever may be its color or its 
form, it still has its root in the same soil, 
which is that of the righteousness of man's 
works, placed by the side of the righteous- 
ness of God hy faith. 

"Yet," resumes the Church of Rome, 
"a council decreed these doctrines; was 
the Holy Spirit, then, not among its doc- 
tors ]" 

The Holy Spirit in the Council of Trent ! 
But (to finish with this too famous assem- 
bly) who does not know how this council 
was convoked, and in what manner it was 
managed "? Did not one of the cardinals 
complain there that " all was decreed ac- 
cording to the will of the pope's legate "?" 
And was it not of this council that these 
words were spoken, which then became a 
proverb : The Holy Spirit which presides 
over the Council of Trent, is regularly sent 
from Rome in a portmanteau ?* And it is 
apparently from that portmanteau that this 
axiom of the Penitenrial issued.: "Satis- 
factory works are profitable not only to 
those who do th<sm, but, by the mutual 
communion of tiie members of Jesus Christ, 
they also psj the debt which other souls 
have contracted."! 

If the .Sible is false, reader, this doctrine 
is true ; for, as the Bible says, on the one 
hand, that the believer should " love God 
wich all his strength and all his soul," and, 
on the other, that " when he shall have 
done all those things which are command- 
ed him, he will be but an unprofitable ser- 
vant,"! where does it leave, room, in the 
soul of that servant, for a meritorious 
work, or for a reward which he can trans- 
fer to any other sinner 1 Does it allow it, 
moreover, when it says, " Every man 
shall bear his own burden 1"§ Or, finally, 
does it allow this doctrine to be perceived 
or imagined, when it declares that " the 
righteous shall eat the fruit of their doings, 



* De necess. secess., disp. v., ij 39. 

t Rhera. annot., Coloss., i., sect. 4. 

X Luke, xvii., 10. ^ Gal., vi., 5. 



116 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



and to the wicked shall be given the re- 
ward of his hands 1''* 

OPPOSITE TESTIMONY. 

Ainbrose understood it when he wrote, 
" Who can, by his obedience, compensate 
for such a salvation ; and who can repay 
what he receives from that grace T'f Au- 
gustine felt it, too, when he said, "The 
saints are heard for themselves ; but they 
are not in the place either of their friends 
or of their enemies, for the Lord said, 
' All that ye ask the Father in my name, 
He will give it to you ;' to you, He said, and 
to no others but those who pray."| Leo 
(reader, he was a pope !) was of the same 
opinion when he decided that " the cour- 
age or the patience of believers is an ex- 
ample for us to follow, not works that jus- 
tify us. Their deaths profited none but 
themselves alone ; and by them they paid 
the debt of no one ; for it is in Christ our 
Lord, and in Him only, that the sinner is 
dead and crucified.'"^ Bernard did not 
think otherwise when, commenting on the 
request of the foolish virgins to the wise, 
" Give us of your oil !" he exclaims. " What 
a foolish request, in truth ! The righteous, 
it is written, is scarcely saved ; the oil of 
the saints hardly suffices for them. Noah, 
Daniel, and Job could save only themselves 
personally ; how much less could this oil 
and these works suffice for others than 
those who possess them !"|| And had the 
" Master of Sentences' a different opinion 
when he taught that each man having 
sinned for himself, should also repent for 
himself; and that it is by the sufferings of 
Christ, and not by those of any man what- 
ever, that we are to be redeemed V'^ 

And if from i\\^t portmanteau of the Coun- 
cil of Trent issued this error, was it not 
from the same treasury that it drew what 
it enjoins on the people under the name, 
so dreaded, oi penance, when it tells them 
that '• corporeal chastisement outward, and 
visible disciphne, is indispensable for the 
remission of a sin ; that thus prayers, fast- 
ing, alms, privations, painful labours, mac- 
erations, austerities, and many othet works 
of this kind, absorb, acquit, and annul the 
fault and its chastisement, at the saoae 
time that they accumulate superabundani 
merits ; so that the soul may perform them 
without murmuring]"** 

Miserable religion, which changes pray- 
er into a penance, a chastisement ! Pray- 
er, which is the sweetest, the most con- 
soling, the most glorious of the privileges 
of the child of God, and which thus be- 
comes, under the scourge of the Romish sac- 



* Is. iii., 10, 11. 
t Ambr., Serm., xvi., in Ps. cxix. 
i August., Comm. in Joh., xvi., 23. 
i) Leo, Epist., Ixxxi. (W.). 
II Bern., In Parab. Virgin. 

^ Magist., sent., lib. i., dist. 1, De Posnit. Id., 48, 
lib. iii., d. 18. ** Bellarm., De Paiuit., lib. iv., c. 6. 



ramenty an obligation, a burden, a con- 
straint ! Carnal and deplorable doctrine, 
which gives Xo fasting and liberality, those 
two useful and precious duties of vigilance 
and love, a ferocious character, before 
which the filial heart of the ransomed one 
recoils, and which cannot be adopted by 
any but a desolate conscience, which sub- 
mits to it as one would submit to groan- 
ing beneath the load of a rock which bruis- 
es and crushes, but still protects from the 
lightning. In short, it is a ridiculons and 
stupid observance, or, rather, guilty pre- 
tence of unbelief, which murmurs at the 
benefits of the Creator, which censures 
the magnificence of his bounties, and which 
fights against the care of Him whose love 
makes his sun rise upon us, and gives us 
all things, that we may enjoy them with 
thanksgiving and gladness ! 

Alas ! this is what the pagans did in 
time past, and what they still do every 
where at the present day. Satan is a fe- 
rocious master, and it was never without 
cruel suflTerings that his victims have serv- 
ed him. If the priests of Bellona, says 
Tertullian,* made their blood flow into 
their hands, to make a meritorious libation 
on the statue of their goddess ; if at Lace- 
daemon, he says elsewhere, they scourged, 
without pity, the noblest young men of the 
republic before another idol ; if, moreover, 
among the Romans, at the festival of the 
Lupercalia, penitents walked naked, mask- 
ed and armed with whips wherewith they 
beat themselves ; if in Egypt, when a cow 
was slain to the Great Demon, the priests 
tore their bodies with rods ;t if, finally, the 
Brahmins and Gymnosophists of India re- 
tired into the woods, lived there like sav- 
ages, ate nothing but roots, and gave them- 
selves up to practices the most fatiguing 
and insupportable to the flesh •,% if, 1 say, 
such in times past among the pagans, and 
at present among the Mohammedans and 
Chinese, are the satisfactions which idols 
require, are they not the same penances, 
and still more severe, which are practiced, 
esteemed, and venerated in the Church of 
Rome, and which even receive canoniza- 
tion, apotheosis] 

Let us open the Breviary and read : 
St. Mary Magdalene afflicted and morti- 
fied her body with the haircloth, the whip, 
with cold, abstinence, watchings, naked- 
ness, and all kinds of torture.^ St. Juli- 
ana was in the habit of subduing her body 
by blows with a whip of little knotted 
cords, by iroti belts, by watchings, and by 
sleeping on the ground. On four days of 
the week only she took a very small quan- 



* Apolog., c. 9. 

t Tertul., ad Mart. Polyd. Virg., lib. vii., c. 6. 
Herodotus, as quoted by Conform, of Cerem., p. 56. 

t Aug., De Civ. Dei, hb. xv. Plin., Hist. Nat, 
lib. vii., c. ii. (Ibid.). 

^ Brev. Rom. (Antv., 1823), Pars Vema, p. 591. 



CONTRITION. 



117 



r 



tity of the most common nourishment ; on 
two otker days she contented herself with 
the bread of angels, and on Sunday it was 
bread and water that sufficed for her.* 
Hidden in a cave, to expiate his sins and 
those of other sinners, St. Jerome Emilius 
passed whole days in fasting and flagel- 
lations, and nearly all night in prayer, al- 
lowing himself but short sleep, and that on 
the hardest rock.f Giving himself up en- 
tirely to this holy exercise, St. Francis 
Borgia, the confessor, covered with the 
roughest haircloth, and his body girt with 
iron fetters, and bleeding under the re- 
peated blows of the scourge, finally attain- 
ed, by fasting and want of sleep, the most 
extreme leanness.J And St. Theresa, who 
can imitate herT Burning with the de- 
sire of chastising her body, she despised 
the evils which aflHicted her, and, envelop- 
ed in haircloth, with rough chains and 
fagots of nettles, she applied the heaviest 
scourging, or rolled upon briers, exclaim- 
ing, O my God I to suffer or to die !^ And St. 
Rosa of Lima, who will equal her 1 Hav- 
ing put on the Dominican robe, she re- 
doubled her former austerities. Her long 
and very rough haircloth was covered with 
fine needles. Under her veil she wore, 
night and day, a band thick set inside with 
sharp points. Then, courageously advanc- 
ing in the footsteps of St. Catherine of 
Sienna, she always walked surrounded by 
a heavy chain coiled three times round her. 
Her bed, too, was made of knotty branch- 
es, mingled with pieces of earthen pots, 
and in a very narrow cell built in a corner 
of her garden, she gave herself up entire- 
ly to the contemplation of heavenly things, 
and, with multiplied blows of discipline, 
in severe fastings and watchings, she ema- 
ciated her body, it is true, but she so 
strengthened her soul that she often re- 
sisted and conquered demons sent to at- 
tack her. II 

"This is the way God is loved!" ex- 
claims the Church of Rome, triumphantly, 
to me. " This is the way heaven is gained ! 
Thus thou wouldst do wert thou submiss- 
ive to me, and had God deteched thee 
from the world." 

" Perhaps," I add, " I should not have 
been inferior even to those recluses, those 
' holy women,' who, in the Middle Ages, 
lived on public roads, in a narrow cell, 
walled up on all sides, receiving light and 
air only through a little grate cut in the 
stone, and who thus spent their days more 
miserably far than the wild beast who is 
led about in its cage !" For it is thus God 
is hated, reader; it is thus heaven is lost 
while serving Satan; in puffing up one's 
self with pride ; in despising Jesus and His 
grace. For, to conclude, place this wor- 

* Brev. Rom. (Antv., 1823), Pars Verna. p. 398. 
t Ibid., p. 483. t Ibid., p. 416. ^ Ibid., p. 425. 
11 Ibid., p. 620. 



ship by that of a heathen, a bonze, who 
sleeps on iron points, and nourishes him- 
self only on a few roots, so as to obtain 
a happier transmigration ; and see which of 
the two is least lamentable, least far from 
God ! Or, rather, place these austerities, 
works, fatigues, and sufferings, with these 
amiable words of the Lord, '* Learn of me, 
for I am meek and lowly in heart ; and ye 
shall find rest unto your souls ; for my 
yoke is easy, and my burden is light;"* 
and judge if I am wrong in saying that " the 
Church which gives itself up to such works 
does not hold the Head, and that, being 
thus subject to ordinances and will-wor- 
ship, it shows that it is of the world, and 
would only please the world. f 

Let that Council of Trent, which the 
Church of Rome places beside the Bible, 
make decrees at its pleasure, then, and let 
it anathematize freely those who despise 
it; it had its Judge when in session; it 
has Him now, while He reigns ; and it will 
have Him, yes ! it will have Him in the day 
when the King will return from heaven. 
As for us, who fear the Lord, leaving, at 
last, these vain and guilty human authori- 
ties, let us be submissive and adore when 
God's oracles speak! and, as they show 
us the error (ah ! let us rather say the 
heresy!) of that Romish doctrine, that 
" the sinner must satisfy for his own sins 
before he can enjoy the efficacy of the Sav- 
iour's merits," let their decision suffice ! 
Let it also suffice to show us what are the 
other doctrines which penance involves, 
and to which I shall next attend. 



CHAPTER V. 



CONTRITION. 



" Stop, if you please," says a Romish 
Catechist to me, " and let me ask, first, if 
you know what sin is f 

" Ah ! I know but too well," I quickly 
replied, " what the transgression of the Law 
is ; what is that wicked lust of the heart ; 
what is that corrupt imagination ; in a word, 
what is that estrangement, alas ! that aver- 
sion from the light and life of God, which 
my conscience reproves, and the Gospel 
curses !" 

The Catechist. " Your reply is tolerable ; 
but it is faulty in this, that it seems to mean 
that all sin is necessarily accursed." 

The Candidate. " And such is my behef. 
' Cursed is every one,' says the Bible, ' that 
continueth not in all things which are writ- 
ten in the book of the Law, to do them.' "J 

The Catechist. " Let us proceed gradu- 
ally, sir ; and let us distinguish, I pray, 
between diff"erent sins : their gravity is dif- 
ferent, and their nature also." 

The Candidate. " As to gravity, I allow. 



* Matth., xi., 30. 
:!: Gal., iii., 10. 



t Coloss., ii., 18, 23. 



118 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



' He that delivered Jesus unto Pilate,' it is 
written, ' had greater sin than the latter ;'* 
and ' tluit servant which knew his lord's 
will, and prepared not himself, neither did 
according to his will, shall be beaten with 
more stripes than he that knew it not.'f 
But Pilate and this servant were guilty, 
nevertheless ; and even if the sin commit- 
ted by error could not be forgiven under 
the Law save by a sacrifice, who will say 
that there is one single sin whose nature 
is not hateful to God, and which can be 
taken from our soul otherwise than by the 
blood of the Lord Jesus !" 

The Catechist. " By the blood of Jesus '\ 
Sir, for a mortal sin, I agree ; for it gives 
death to the soul, by causing it to lose the 
spiritual life of grace ; but know that, as 
to venial sin, though it weakens the spirit- 
ual life of the soul, yet, as it does not cause 
it to lose sanctifying grace nor charity, 
and as it does not merit eternal punish- 
ment, it is expiated here below by good 
works and deeds of contrition, or .of love 
to God ; and that, if any of it remain till 
our death, purgatory will complete our pu- 
rification."! 

The Candidate. " My Bible denies it, sir ; 
for it tells me that all sin is, by its nature, 
worthy of death ; that all sin is a trans- 
gression of God's law ; that all transgres- 
sion is accursed of God, and that even the 
least sin excludes from eternal life, be- 
cause he who commits it ' is guilty of all 
the law.' "§ 

The Catechist. " You are here, sir, to 
listen to the Church, and not to oppose 
your Bible continually to her. Now the 
Fathers and the Councils have always 
made a distinction between mortal and ve- 
nial sins. "II 

The Candidate. " I know that the Coun- 
cil of Trent^ did so ; but I also know that 
when Eve told the serpent that 'if she 
sinned she should surely die,' the devil 
told her that God, in so saying, had lied.** 
And as to the Fathers, they say, indeed, 
with their Bible (which is the same as 
mine, sir !), that there are sins more crim- 
inal than others, but never did they say 
that the least of them did not merit hell- 
>.."tt 

The Catechist. " Then, sir, you will be 
damned, perchance, because you shall have 
slept or eaten more than you ought to." 

The Candidate. " The end of the ser- 
pent's tail, sir, though it be but the extrem- 
ity of the beast, is nevertheless part of it, 
and it is no less serpent than the teeth, 
which contain the venom. If, then, the 



* John, xix., 11. t Luke, xii., 47. 

J Catech.for the use of the Diocese of Geneva, 1820, 
ninth lesson. Diet, theol. poriat., p. 362. Bellarm., 
De amiss, grat. and Statu pecc, lib. i., c. 2 and 9. 

() Rom., v., 12, 13 ; vi., 16. 1 John, iii., 4. Deut., 
xxvii., 26. Gal., iii., 10. Matth., v., 19. Jas., ii., 10. 

II Bellarm., ubi supra. % Sess. xiv., c. 5. 

** Gen., iii., 1-5. ft Maith., v., 22. 



serpent is accursed, the least end of its 
tail is quite as much so as i1«s head. 
Which very clearly means, that if my la- 
ziness or my intemperance is the produce 
of sin, which pollutes and fills my heart, 
that fruit is no better than the sap, and it 
is cursed by the just and holy law of Him 
' whose eyes are purer than to behold evil, 
and who cannot look on iniquity.' "* 

The Catechist. " What a severe and im- 
placable doctrine ! Ah ! sir, that of Rome 
is much more mild and easy. Thus, for 
instance, we indeed say that theft, consid- 
ered abstractedly, is a mortal sin, but we 
take care, also, to teach, that if the theft 
is but small, it thereby becomes venial '."f 

The Candidate. " May I know how much 
I can steal without being guilty of mortal 
sin 1" 

The Catechist. " Nothing positive has 
been decided thereon by the Church ;| for 
the quantity of money you might steal 
would vary in worth with the fortune of 
him whom you would deprive of it." 

The Candidate. " Well, then, sir, what 
shall my conscience do ? for I am strong- 
ly tempted to steal." 

The Catechist. " Listen ! Our theologi- 
ans class men in four conditions as to 
wealth : the opulent, the rich, the mid- 
dling, and the poor. Now we consider it 
a mortal sin to steal from the first about 
five francs ($1); from the second, three 
francs ; from the third, one or two ; and 
from the last, five cents, and even less."^ 

The Candidate. " Much obliged, sir ; I 
feel at ease ; if, indeed, I repeat, I put my 
Bible aside ; for if I confront what you 
have just told me with the Word of God, 
it is but darkness and falsehood. That 
Word is from heaven, sir, and it declares 
that there will be ' tribulation and anguish 
on every soul of man that doeth evil.' "|| 

The Catechist. " You accept your fate 
cheerfully, sir ; for, indeed, as your Bible 
includes in this even your negligences, 
though the smallest, I see not how you will 
escape." 

The Candidate. "I will escape, sir, by 
the door of»my Saviour's open tomb. With 
Him I descended to hell, and was bound 
with the fetters of death and God's indig- 
nation ; but those chains have been bro- 
ken ; the stone of the sepulchre has been 
rolled away ; the Holy One of God has 
risen, and my soul with Him ; and it is by 
His blood which has been spilt, and by the 
victory which He gained over death, that 
I shall have pardon, whether I sleep or eat 
without temperance.^ You see, then, for 
I confess it openly, that I believe more 

* Habak., i., 13. 

t Dens Theology, i., p. 365, 369. Bailly, Mor. 
Theol, ii. De praec. Decal., p. 232. J Ibid. 

ij Ibid. II Rom , ii., 9, 

IT Eph., ii., 4-8. Rom., iv., 25. Acts, ii., 24, etc. 
1 Cor., XV., 35-57. 



CONTRITION. 



119 



than you, sir ; for you make a distinction 
between certain mortal and ?;ema/ sins ; but 
as for me, I believe that they are all mor- 
tal, because ' the wages of sin is death,' 
and all venial, too, for Christ's blood cleans- 
eth from all sin."* 

The Catechist. "Your Bible, sir, says 
nothing, then, of the unpardonable sin V 

The Candidate. " I assure you, at least, 
that it does not say, with your catechism, 

* that there is no sin which the Church can- 
not remit, and which penance cannot ef- 
face ;'t and if it speaks of ' the sin against the 
Holy Ghost, which is unpardonable forev- 
er,' It indicates, at the same time, who those 
are who commit it ; and they are not those 
who believe and keep the Bible, but those, 
truly, sir, who, by unbelief and malice, 
knowingly despise the Word of God, and 
substitute the operation of the devil for 
that of the Holy Spirit. "| 

The catechist chose to understand that 
I spoke of his doctrine ; and, to divert the 
argument, he told me, " However that 
may be, sir, do you not know now what 
CONTRITION, that first act of the Sacrament 
of Penance, is ]" 

" Be so good as to tell me," I replied ; 
"for you know I am before you to be 
taught." 

2'Ae Catechist (gravely). " Contrition is 
neither wholly of God, nor wholly of man. 
Aided by God, man can repent of his own 
accord."^ 

The Candidate. " Precisely the contrary 
from my Bible, which tells me that ' every 
good gift and every perfect gift is from 
above, and cometh down from the Father 
of lights ;'|| contrary to the sentiment of 
the Prophet-King, who says to the Lord, 

* Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and 
renew a right spirit within me ;'^ finally, 
it is contrary to the Fathers, for 

TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS. 

" Augustine says, ' Who will repent, un- 
less God Himself gives him repentance V** 
Ambrose declares that grace is entirely 
renounced, if it is not received entirely. ff 
Jerome remarks, that ' all that flows in the 
stream should be seen at its source. 'JJ 
Bernard, deciding the question quite as 
plainly, writes this, that you should retain 
it : ' Free-will and God's grace do not work 
together. Grace acts quite alone, and 
man's will also. It is, then, grace which 
works alone and entirely in this will, which 
it finds like a passive being in whom its 
efficacy works. '•^^ Even your ' Master of 
Sentences' opposes what you have assert- 
ed, in these words : ' A sincere and active 



* Rom., VI., 23. 1 John, i., 7. 
t Catech. Cone. Trid., pars ii., De Pcenit. Sacr., 
23, etc. Diet. Theol. Port, p. 362. 
t Matth., xii., 31, 32. 

^ Bellarm., De Poenit., lib. i., c. 3. || Jas., i., 17. 
f Ps. 11., 10. ** August., in 1 Tim., 11 , 25. 

tt Ambr., Epist., vlU. J J Hleron., ad Ctesiph. (W.). 
^ Bern., De liber, arb. (Id.) 



repentance is the work of God, not of man. 
God can inspire it when He pleases, by His 
powerful mercy.'* And to complete the 
opposition, the second Council of Orange, 
in its seventh canon, pronounces this de- 
cree, which certainly condemns you : ' If 
any one says that man, by the strength of 
his nature, can think or choose any good 
thing pertaining to everlasting life, or even 
that he can acquiesce in the preaching of 
the truth, he is seduced by a spirit of her- 
esy, for the Lord tells him, " Without me, 
ye can do nothing." 'f You will own, sir, 
that thus far you are in harmony neither 
with the Bible, nor yet with the Universal 
Church." 

The Catechist (a little disconcerted). 
" Notwithstanding that, the Catholic 
Church teaches that contrition is in the 
heart, without the knowledge of the Law ; 
that it ought to be perfect there ; and that, 
if it can hope for pardon, still it can never 
be sure of it. "J 

The Candidate. " Well ! sir, the Uni- 
versal Church is here again in opposition 
to your Cathohc Church; for, in the first 
place, the Bible (which is the book of the 
Universal Church) declares that ' sin is not 
known without the Law,' which is ' the let- 
ter that killeth, and the ministration of 
condemnation.'^ It says, moreover, that 
the Christian's sorrow, far from being per- 
fect, is but for a time, and should not over- 
whelm him ; and that Bible asserts, again, 
that the sorrow which is of God produces 
a salutary feeling, and the assurance of 
God's peace. "jl 

The Catechist. " Yet the Church has de- 
creed that contrition precedes faith, and 
that it is a means of justifying the soul of 
its mortal sins, the venial sins not needing 
it, as fear of punishment sufiices to repress 
them."l 

The Candidate. " Opposition, again, first 
to the Bible, which declares that the sin- 
ner is justified by faith only, that he is 
gratuitously justified, that he repents even 
of his faults committed by mistake, and 
that perfect love dehvers him from fear ;** 
and, then, opposition to the Universal 
Church, whose faith is this : 

" ' No good work,' says Augustine, ' pre- 
cedes pardon, but it accompanies it.ff 
Presume not, then, that thy work antici- 
pated thy faith; the latter found thee a 
sinner. 'IJ ' Faith,' a pope tells you, ' should 



* Mag. Sent., lib. Iv., dist. 20. t John, xv., 5. 

% Bellarm., De Pcenit., lib. 11., c. 2, prop. 3. Ca- 
tech. Rom., p. 439. Cone. Trld., sess. vl., c. Ix. 

() Rom., vll., 7. 2 Cor., 111., 6, 9. 

II 2 Cor., 11., 7, 8, 11. 

^ Bellarm., De Pcenit., lib. 11., c. 8. Id., c. 12. 
Scot., lib. Iv., dist. 17, a. 3. Mag. Sent., lib. Iv., dist. 
2, a. 1 (W.). 

** Rom., Iv., 7 ; Hi., 24. Ps. xxxii., i., 5 ; xix., 12. 
1 John, iv., 17, 18. 

ft Aug., DeFide et Oper., c. xlv. Bona opera non 
praecedunt justlficandum, sed sequntur justlfieatum. 

JJ In Ps. xxxi. 



120 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



precede every good deed ;' * for,' says 
Cyril of Alexandria, * as it is written that 
faith without works is dead, the contrary 
is quite as true, that works without faith 
are dead.'* ' And it is not only,' Augus- 
tine repeats, ' of our ignorance of life that 
we should repent, but we should do it dai- 
ly, even because of the dust of this world 
which attaches itself to our feet.'f ' What 
should be thought,' he tells you, moreover, 
'of him who fears the day of judgment? 
If love were perfect in him, he would not 
know fear. 'J ' For that fear,' says Origen, 
'is neither good in itself, nor capable of 
delivering from the darkness without.'^ 
'The fear of the Lord is holy,' says Am- 
brose. ' The wise man acts willingly and 
the fool reluctantly, and the sinner and 
slave fearfully.'!! 'The chains of Christ,' 
Jerome tells you, ' are received joyfully, 
and those bonds become sweetembraces.'^ 
Finally, sir, Gregory I. tells you, 'He who 
obeys from fear does not render obedi- 
ence ;' and a Council of Mayence advises 
you, as the freeman of Christ, to take good 
care not to observe the commandment 
from fear, as do worldly people, who obey 
only by constraint.** 

" If then, sir, it is a pressing necessity 
for a soul that loves God in His grace, to 
pour out its sentiments to Him ; if it is 
sweet to deposit in the Lord's bosom both 
his desires and his troubles, as well as his 
joys ; to humble himself in his paternal 
presence ; to confess his faults in the con- 
fidence of filial fear, and have recourse 
with confidence to the riches of that par- 
don which is acquired for him in Jesus iff 
if such is the secret teaching of the Spirit 
of adoption whereby the believer is seal- 
ed ; if it is also the example which all the 
sincere servants of the Lord present in the 
Church, and if this is true of them, ' They 
will confess their iniquity, saith the Lord, 
with their trespass which they will have 
trespassed against me, and then will I re- 
member my covenant. 'II ' I said, I wlil 
confess my transgressions, and thou for- 
gavest the iniquity of my sin •,'^^ if such, 
1 say, is the amiable and blessed duty of 
the redeemed of God, how far is that filial 
pain from that which would produce fear 
of chastisement in me ; that evangelical 
contrition, in which a soul that loves the 
Saviour is grieved, weeps like a child on 
its mother's bosom, from that contrition of 
which you speak to me, where grief would 

* Julius I., Deer., 11. Cyr. Alex., Expos. Nican. 
Symb. (W.). 

t In Johann., tract. 57. (Id.). 

X Idem., in 1 Joh., iv., 17, 18. 

<^ Orig., Tract, xxxiii., in Matth. (W.), 

II Ambr., Epist., 84. Id., Epist., 7. 

^ Hieron., De Mans. (Id.). 

** Decret., lib. v., tit. xli., c. 8. Syn. Mogunt., 
c. 10 (Id.). 

t+ Musculus, Comm. Place, title xxiv., On Repent- 
ance. \X Lev., xxvi., 40, 42. ^(J Ps. xxxii., 5. 



unite, as your Council of Trent would 
have it, with the fear of hell, or even to 
the fear of havmg lost God's grace, and of 
being less loved by him !* 

" Ah ! if the sorrow which sin causes in 
me is not that of having offended my Fa- 
ther, and if it is a judge that it shows me 
in my God, where is my faith in His prom- 
ise, and what protection will my heart 
then seek in Jesus ^f I am, then, a stran- 
ger, and even a proscribed being like Cain : 
1 flee before the face of the Lord ; or if I 
give myself up to His mercy,| it is only 
as the beast, which returns to its master 
because the latter threatens it." Reader, 
how unlike is such a Gospel to that which 
Jesus preached, and love contemplates ! 



CHAPTER VL 

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION. 
^ L CONFESSION. 

What shall I say of the kind of confes- 
sion which the Church of Rome commands 
me to make, alone, privately, to my priest, 
and which is such that, if I do not not make 
it, or " if I think that it is not of divine in- 
stitution," or that " the Church did not al- 
ways practice it," I am not only excom- 
municated, but, moreover, must be " exclud- 
ed from the temples, and deprived even of 
Christian burial ]"^ 

It would not be so bad if this confession 
were the voluntary disclosure of my heart 
in the bosom of a discreet and faithful min- 
ister of Jesus ; but I must, " without re- 
serve, and in their necessary detail, make 
know^n all the sins which the Lord alone 
has seen ;" I must, whatever be my sex, or 
my age, or that of the priest, and whatev- 
er obligations my domestic or civil situa- 
tion may impose upon me, tell him " their 
number, relapses, circumstances, causes,, 
and consequences ;"|| I must thus unveil, 
to a man quite as much tempted and quite 
as weak as myself, thoughts, desires,, 
actions, practices, the very mention of 
which dishonors my soul, and whose reci- 
tal may corrupt it still more, and seduce, 
at the same time, him who hears me \ 
What a snare to lust, as well as to so 
many other criminal passions !^ Who 
would dare to write and publish all that is 
said and done between the confessor and 
his male or female penitent ? How many 
revelations have I received, even since I 



* Cone. Trid., sess. xiv. Catech. Cone. Trid., pars 
ii., De Pcenit., a. 30, et seq. Abridg. of Catech., etc., 
lesson xxxix. Bellarm., De Pcenit., lib. ii., c. 3. 

t Musculus, Com. Place, tit. xxiv., On Repentance. 

t 2Chron.,xxx., 6-10. 

<j Decree of Pope Innocent ITL, Cone. Later., sess. 
xiii., c. 7, et sess xiv., c. 5, 6. 

II Abridg. of Catech., etc., lesson 41. Catech. Cone. 
Trid., De Poznit. Saeram., art. 45, et seq. Cone.' 
Trid., sess. xiv.,c. 6. Rhem. ann., in Joh., xx.,Bect. 5.. 

^ Musculus, On Auric. Confes., tit. xxiv. 



CONFESSION. 



121 



have begun this examination, both from 
the mouth of two priests, who quite re- 
cently abjured the doctrines of the Church 
of Rome, and entered the Church of the 
Bible, and from the lips of men and wom- 
en whom the abuses (1 should say the vul- 
garities and infamies) of confession have 
forever alienated from the Church which 
commands it ! 

What could I not relate to you, reader, 
about that practice, perverse, impure, and 
licentious, as well as ambitious, indiscreet, 
and crafty ! What astonishment and hor- 
ror would you feel at once, if you raised 
but a little the veil behind which the affairs 
of state, the harmony of families, the quiet 
of timorous souls are watched, disturbed, or 
destroyed ! And what shame, also, ye 
priests' ! young and old, who may hear my 
voice, would cover your foreheads and 
force you to cast your eyes to the ground, 
were you named, and were the complaints 
which arise against you in the intimacy of 
conversation at once made pubhc, and it 
should be proclaimed to the people, " Here 
they are ! !" 

And let it not be supposed that these 
abuses (I say, rather, these crimes !) are 
peculiar to certain places ; they are the 
very essence of the sacrament of penance ; 
and to be convinced of it, let the books be 
read, if it can possibly be done without 
danger, which relate to marriage as it re- 
spects confessors. I shall only quote a few 
words taken from " Directions given to a 
young Priest on the Confession of Women, 
Virgins, and Married Persons," in the in- 
structions of Maynooth College, Ireland.* 

" A prudent confessor, after having gain- 
ed his penitent's confidence by soft words, 
will pass by degrees from a general point 
to more particular details ; from what is 
less sensitive, as to modesty, to that which 
becomes more so ; from outward actions 
to thoughts and intentions. He will ask 
her, for instance, if she never had any bad 
wish T Then, what was its nature 1 Then, 
if she never felt any guilty passion 1 Then, 
if that tendency was not followed by cer- 
tain reprehensible actions ^ Then, if, per- 
haps, she is not attached to some young 
man^ Then, if she ever allowed herself 
to embrace himT" 

Yes, yes, reader, such are the instruc- 
tions which the young priest receives, and 
which he must practice, "laying aside," 
it is added, "all reserve and modesty;" 
and, after having discussed the question, 
" Whether a young lady, overcome by mod- 
esty, could not give her answers in writ- 
ing, instead of repeating them aloud V the 
theologians of Maynooth arrive at the con- 
clusion that " this medium might be used 
in certain cases ; but that, if, notwithstand- 
ing that, the young penitent refuses to con- 

* Bailly, vol. ii., p. 288, etc. De la Hogue, De 
Pamit., p. 164 (Lect. on Prot., 13). 



fess what she has done, she should be con- 
sidered guilty of perverseness, and refused 
absolution." 

What outrages ! you will exclaim, read 
er. But how much more criminal are the 
outrages which the instruction respecting 
married women contains !* Impure and 
immodest priests ! how dare you think of 
those details at which the anatomist would 
blush! and how has Satan mastered your 
hearts, to make your tongues utter, in the 
Confessional, obscenities which are not 
mentioned even in the dens of debauchery '.f 

But, even were such excesses not to 
take place, by what right shall one man: 
force an entrance into another man's heart? 
Whence this usurpation of authority over 
the sanctuary of my conscience, where 
one would take the place of my God, who 
alone can say to His creature, " It is I, it 
is I, who search the heart and try the 
reins !"J Did the Lord ever design that 
one sinner should search in another sin- 
ner for that knowledge which the eye of 
the great God alone discovers? He tells 
His children, " Confess your faults one 
to another;" He at the same time says, 
" Pray one for another ;"^ and if He thus 
invites them to make known to each other 
the burden of their hearts, and this that 
the bond of charity might abide in all its 
strength, where does He tell them that 
the sheep of the Lord Jesus should go to 
their Shepherd's servant, to ask of him to 
grant that pardon which the heavenly 
Lawgiver alone promises and dispenses, || 
and thus to take the vain wisdom or the 
imaginaiy authority of that man for the 
guidance or peace which the Holy Spirit 
reserves to itself, and which it alone can 
give 1 Where, I ask, can be found, in all 
the writings of the apostles, a single fact 
or allusion which relates to hi Are not 
the duties of pastors detailed there 1 Why,.. 
then, is not a word said of that duty, 
which, if divine, would be one of the most 
important? They declare, it is true, and 
that frequently, that God remits and for- 
gives the sins of believers who repent ; but 
where do they say that he has charged the 
ministers of the Word both to take knowl- 
edge of these sins, and afterward to remit 
them? 

CONTRARY TESTIMONY. 

Ah! had the Word of the Lord been 
the foundation of this practice, would it 
have produced so many dissensions and 
debates, even in the Church where it pre- 
vails ? If the Fathers and Doctors spoke 
of public confession, to be made before the 
Church, of public and notorious faults, ac- 



* Bailly, Mor. Theol, t. iv., p. 483. 

+ See, for instance, Burchard, Decret., lib. xix., p. 
169, Concubuistine, etc. Tolet., Instr. Sacerd., lib. iii.^, 
c. 2. Qui peccatum mollitiei, etc. 

t Jer., xvii., 10, ^Jas.,v., 16. |1 Ibid.,iv,,ia; 



122 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



•cording to the injunction of the apostle, 
and of " rebuking, before all, them that sin, 
that others nlso may fear,"* do they men- 
tion any other confession 1 

In the first place, it did not exist in the 
fifth century; for Chrysostom writes, " I do 
not tell thee to go and confess thy faults 
to him who is but a servant like thyself;"! 
and Erasmus remarks, " That it was not so 
in Jerome's day ; and that it was only by 
mistaking what the Fathers had said as to 
confession made in public, that they have 
arrived, little by little, to imagine the oth- 
er. "J Thus, Tertullian said, "Our con- 
fession is that in which we own our faults 
before God ; if thou dost, then, bow down 
in the midst of thy brethren, it is Christ 
Himself whom thou dost implore !"^ " It 
is in presence of the church," says Cyp- 
rian, " that this confession of our sins is 
made, before the Lord's Supper is cele- 
brated."! " I do not tell thee," says Chry- 
sostom again, " to display thy sins and ac- 
cuse thyself, but to obey the prophet, who 
tells thee, ' Uncover thy ways to the Lord.' 
Confess them, then, to God. Let this judg- 
ment be made without witnesses ; let none 
but God alone know thy confession."^ 
'• What have I to do," exclaims Augustine, 
" with confessing myself in the ears of 
men, as if they could cure my sorrows ?"** 
"However," he says elsewhere, "I will 
also confess my faults to my brethren ; to 
the saints who fear God."ft 

Where, then, was this sacrament of con- 
fession at that time 1 And even after that, 
in the thirteenth century, when it had been 
decreed by a popeJJ what opposition it re- 
ceived from the most learned doctors of 
Rome ;^^ from Michael of Bologne, for in- 
stance, the general of the Carmelites ; from 
Seneca ; from Peter d'Osma, theologian at 
Salamanca ; from John Scot ; from Panor- 
mitanus ; from the Cardinal Cajetan, who 
did not hesitate to say that " the necessity 
of confession is founded neither on God's 
commandments, nor on those of the Church, 
nor yet on the natural law, nor on reason ;"|| || 
from Cassander, who called that minute 
research which the priest was to make 
of the penitent's sins, a " torture of con- 
science, which tradition had poisoned ;"^^ 
from Melchior Canus, who asserted that 
confession taught, " not to avoid sin, but to 
commit it ;"*** and many others ! 

^ 3. ABSOLUTION. 

But the Church of Rome, doubtless, longs 



* 1 Tim., v., 20. t Chrys., Horn, l, in Ps. xxx. 
X Erasm., in schol. in epitaph. Fab. (W.). 
^ Apolog., c. iv. (Id.). II Lib. iii., Epist. 16. 

% In Ps. 1., Horn. 31, in Epist. ad Hebr., Horn. De 
P(znit. ** Confess., lib. X., 3. 

tt Horn. 12, in Jas., v., 16. 
i Innocent III., in 1215. Cone. Gall., p. 239. 
()<} Fra Paolo, 1. iv. |||| T. C, bk. xv., ch. 37. 

iriT Beat. Rhenan., Prcef. in TertuL, De Poenit. 
♦** Relect. de Poenit. , pars vi. 



to answer me, by recalling to my mind the 
duty imposed on her leaders, and the au- 
thority which they have received from Je- 
sus Christ to " remit the sins of the faith- 
ful ;" which they could not do, says that 
church, if they did not know them. There- 
fore, she says, confession is necessary in 
order to absolution, which is a command- 
ment of Jesus Christ.* 

The Church of Rome tells me, then, that 
" if, being sincerely contrite for all my sins, 
I have humbly, and without reserve, con- 
fessed them to a priest, the latter, in the 
name of Jesus Christ, will pronounce my 
absolution, that is to say, the sentence 
which will remit my sins, of which I shall 
be inwardly absolved by the invisible Pon- 
tiff of the church, while the priest exercises 
his visible ministry."! 

" What !" I exclaim, " without the preach- 
ing of the Word of God ! Without the an- 
nunciation of the promises of the Gospel ! 
Without the invitation made to the sinner 
to humble himself before God, to believe 
in his grace, and to rest entirely on the 
sacrifice of Jesus and His all-prevalent in- 
tercession ! Pardon given without the ex- 
ercise of faith!" 

" St. Paul," the Romish Church replies, 
" bound and unbound the incestuous per- 
son of his own accord, and by his mere 
apostolical authority. Now that authority 
has been transmitted to me ; I also can 
thus absolve or condemn by my own pow- 
er."t 

" Well !" I answer, " at least show that 
authority (that is, if you have it !), as St. 
Paul and God's other servants did when 
they declared to the people and the church- 
es that it was ' by faith in the name of the 
Lord Jesus that the remission of sins was 
preached ;' that they were only ' ministers 
of reconciliation,' and that those became 
assured of their pardon who, believing in 
the Saviour's name, ' seized His great and 
precious promises, and by them escaped 
from the corruption which is in the world.' 
Say, then, to sinners, either, as the Lord 
Himself said, ' Thy faith hath saved thee ; 
go in peace ;' or as St. John, ' He that 
hath the Son, hath life ;' or as St. Peter, 
' Whoso believeth in Jesus, receiveth the 
remission of sins in His name.'§ Did St. 
Peter, or St. Paul, or St. John ever say 
to a sinner, ' I, Peter, Paul, or John, ab- 
solve thee V Why, then, should you say 
so. Church of Rome, if you even had their 
power! Why, then, do you say it when 
you have it not !" 



* Catech. Cone. Trid., xix., etc. De Poenit., Cone. 
Trid., sess. xiv., c. 4. 

t Bossuet, Exposition, art. 9. Abridg. of Catech., 
etc., lesson 43. Catech. Cone. Trid., Ixxi., De Poenit. 
sacr. 

t Rhem. Ann., 1 Cor., v., sect. 3. Bellarm., De 
Clericis, lib. i., C. 7. 

^ Acts, ii., 37, 38 ; iii., 19, 20 ; x., 43. 2 Cor., v., 
18-21. 2 Pet., i., 4. Luke, vii., 50. 1 John, v., 12. 



ABSOLUTION. 



123 



CONTRARY TESTIMONY. 

Nor was this the belief nor the custom 
of the Apostohcal Church. It certainly 
believed that when the Lord Jesus breath- 
ed on the apostles, saying to them, " Re- 
ceive the Holy Spirit : whose soever sins 
you remit, they are remitted unto them ; 
and whose soever sins ye retain, they are 
retained,"* he gave them a commission to 
declare in His name, and by His word, the 
way of salvation, announcing pardon, as 
well as denouncing condemnation, accord- 
ing to the terms of the Gospel ; and that 
this same charge was imposedj by the 
same Word and on the same terms, on 
those whom the Lord placed in his Church 
after the apostles, as ministers of his Gos- 
pel, and as pastors of his flocks. But the 
primitive Church did not understand nor 
teach that the Lord established on earth a 
tribunal and judges to whom his power 
was transmitted, and which, in his name, 
should pronounce or refuse the sentence 
of heavenly absolution; and here are a few 
proofs of it : 

Cyprian, speaking of the charitable of- 
fice of the ministers of the Word, among 
souls who are fallen into sin, describes 
them, not as conferring absolution of sins, 
but as bringing these souls to the knowl- 
edge of their faults, and to seek their for- 
giveness from the Lord.f " It is not abso- 
lutely^-^ says Basil, " that the power of for- 
giving was given, but only on condition of 
the penitent's obedience."! Jerome, ex- 
plaining the words of the Saviour to Peter, 
"I will give thee the keys of the kingdom 
of heaven," remarks that there are bishops 
and priests who, " imitating the Pharisees, 
think they have the power of condemning 
and absolving, when they themselves need 
pardon. How many there are," he re- 
marks, " who have neither spiritual dress 
nor food, and who still pretend to dress 
and feed other souls ! Let those people 
rather say, like Moses, ' Send another than 
J.'^ It is Jesus alone who cures our sor- 
rows and weakness, as it is written, ' He 
liealeth the broken-hearted, and bindeth 
up their wounds.' Therefore," he adds, 
" as under the Levitical law, the priest de- 
clared whether the leper was cured or not, 
in the same way the bishop or priest binds 
or unbinds at the present day, on the evi- 
dence he receives, and according to the 
Word. "11 Augustine, especially, express- 
es himself in this respect with much pre- 
cision. " It is the Holy Spirit," he says, 
" which remits sins, and no man can do it ; 
for that man needs the physician quite as 
much as the sinner does who seeks from 
him a remedy. And if any one asks. Where 
is the fulfilling of those words of the Sav- 
iour to the apostles, ' Whatsoever ye shall 



* John, XX., 22, 23. t Epist., Ixxv. 

X Regul. Brev., 9, 15. ^ Exod., iv., 13. 

II Hieron., In Es., lib. ii., c. 3 (Keary). 



bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,' I 
answer, that the Lord was to send his 
Spirit, by whom sins should be remitted. 
It is His Spirit which He sends, and not 
you, servants ! Now, the Spirit is God ; 
it is God, then, who remits, not you."* 
Again, to make it clear that this tribunal 
which the Church of Rome sets up, and 
where she says, by the priest's mouth, / 
absolve thee, is not of divine institution, the 
Greek Church, and the whole Eastern 
Church with it, merely has a prayer, ask- 
ing " that it may please God to absolve 
the penitent believer. " The Church of the 
Gauls took the same course. An ancient 
liturgy bears these words : " May Almighty 
God have mercy on thee, and forgive thee!"t 
The Council of Chalons, convoked by Char- 
lemagne, in 813, decreed, that " confession 
made to God cleanses from sin ; that that 
made to the priest teaches in what way 
that remission takes place. For it is God," 
it says, " who is the author of salvation, and 
who heals the soul, and it is He who bestows 
these gifts ; and if He uses for that object 
the visible ministry of the physicians. He, 
however, more frequently accomplishes it 
by the invisible operation of his power. "J 
It is in the same sense that Peter Lom- 
bard, in the twelfth century, remarked that 
priests have only power " to show that 
sins are bound or unbound by the Word 
of Jesus Christ;"^ and thus, also, Ferus, a 
Cordelier priest, understands it when he 
says that " all that the priest should do is 
to say to the repenting believer, ' I an- 
nounce to thee that God is propitious to 
thee in Jesus Christ, I certify that thy sins 
are remitted.' What does the priest do, 
then," he adds, " but to preach the Gospel, 
and to tell the sinner that God forgives 
him in his Son?"! Again, Pope Adrian 
VI. holds the same language, and quotes 
several doctors who have decided similar- 
ly. And yet the Council of Trent decreed 
that if any one says that the absolution 
which the priest gives is not " a judiciary 
act, but merely a ministry, whereby one 
declares to him who confesses that his 
sins are remitted, let him be anathema."^ 
O reader! what paths are those which 
turn aside from what is written in the Book 
of the Lord ! What complication, and, at 
the same time, what darkness, in a system 
in which, as the grace of God in Jesus is 
weakened and made secondary, and the 
merit of man substituted in its stead, man 
must thenceforth depend only on the Law, 
on himself and his own observance ! What 
a yoke is such a doctrine ! W^hat a weari- 
ness are all these precautions and prac- 



* Serm. xcix., De Verb. Evang. Lucce, vii. Id., 
in Miss. Apost. (W.). f T. C, bk. xi., c. 3. 

J Concil. Cabilon., can. xxxiii. Confessio qucs 
Deo fit, Purgat peccata, etc. 

^ Magist. Sent., lib. iv., dist. 18 at 19. 

II Ferus, apud Sixt. Senens., 1. vi. Biblioth., p. 
annot. 45 (P. E.). f Sess. xiv., c. 9. 



124 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



tices, which, even after having kept the 
sinner far from Jesus, from the peace of 
God, and the joy of the Holy Spirit, in this 
life, leave him only in the expectation,. 
on going out of this world, of a place of 
torment, whither he must go to satisfy for 
the chastisements " from which Jesus could 
not, or would not, redeem him!" 

No, I feel no attraction to a religion thus 
laborious, exacting, and, finally, useless. I 
require nourishment ; to live in God ; and 
Rome entertains me only with herself 
and myself; with her arrogance and my 
ruin. I need rest ; and that Church speaks 
to me only of ceremonies and fatigues. I 
need a sure pardon, and she only offers me, 
here below, during life, some feeble hope 
of salvation, many doubts and fears, and, 
on my death-bed, the terrors of hell, or the 
fire of purgatory ! 



CHAPTER Vn. 

PURGATORY AND INDULGENCES. 

I WAS once sojourning in a village of one 
of the Romish cantons of German Switz- 
erland, and desired to make the acquaint- 
ance of the curate of the place. He was 
an old man, of peculiarly gentle and ven- 
erable aspect. I found him in his library, 
where he received me with plainness, but 
with a manner which made me feel that 
his politeness was that of the heart. I in- 
troduced myself to him only as a friend 
of the Bible, desirous to converse on its 
truths with those who believe them ; and 
we immediately entered into conversation 
on the happiness which the knowledge of 
God's love in Jesus gives. My venerable 
friend (for he honored me with that title 
from the first day) spoke feelingly. We 
were seated near a window, and the last 
tints of the setting sun lighted up his mild 
face, on which some of those tears shone 
which one never regrets to shed. 

" Let me ask you," he said to me, with 
interest, toward the end of the conversa- 
tion, " to what communion you belong V 

" You have seen," I answered, smiling, 
" that I have the happiness to know God's 
grace in Jesus. I am a Christian." 

" I see it," the old man resumed ; " and 
I also hope," he added, with a sigh, " that 
I feel it. But, in a word, are you Protest- 
ant or Catholic 1" 

"What!" I replied, taking his hand, 
which I pressed affectionately, " is it not 
enough that I am Christ's V 

" Well, then," he said, " I am contented, 
and with all my heart, for the present ; but 
come back and see me daily, if you can." 

Our friendship was soon intimate, and I 
was not long without seeing that this dear 
old man did not possess the peace which I 
myself enjoyed, and that all he could reply 
to the question, Is your soul saved 1 was, 
" I hope so. For how," he added, " can I 



know it ] Is there a single man who has 
the right to be sure of it 1 and does not the 
Church pronounce anathema against such 
an assurance V* 

" Yet," I told him, " many years have 
passed since that peace of God was given 
me, and I do not think He has cursed me 
for that." 

The old man sighed, and said to me, in 
a low voice, " You are very happy !" 

This remark informed me, to my great 
joy, that this interesting man was not sub- 
jected to the authority of his Church, for 
he appreciated as happiness what it con- 
demns ; and I conceived the hope of caus- 
ing him to partake of that peace of God 
which his soul desired. But I had to pass 
with him through all the paths and numer- 
ous wanderings which he had followed for 
about eighty years, and our first conversa- 
tions had nothing but the character of the 
skirmishes which prepare for a decisive 
battle. It was principally in walking in 
the country that we conversed on the 
things of heaven, and it Avas an incident, 
quite unexpected, that provoked one of our 
most serious and continued discussions. 

One day, when we had prolonged our 
walk as far as a village situated on the 
slope of a mountain, at the moment we 
were entering it, we met a little girl, who, 
as she walked along, wept and sobbed. 
My friend asked her the cause of her grief,, 
and she told him that she had lost her 
father some time before ; that her mother, 
whom she dearly loved, had also died a 
few months since ; and, she added, sob- 
bing, " I have not money enough to have a 
mass said for her." 

" A mass !" I exclaimed ; " and for what f* 

" Ah ! good sir, to recover from purga- 
tory the soul of my dear mother." 

At these words, I saw my friend, who 
appeared embarrassed, blush. " Do you 
think, then," I continued, " my poor child, 
that your money can do any good to your 
mother's soul 1" 

" Not my money," she said, bowing her 
head, " but the mass which the vicar will 
say for her." 

" And how much does a mass cost ?" I 
inquired. 

" Twelve cents, sir, and I can only fur- 
nish eight ; because I have had to pay my 
little brother's schooling, and also for the 
new shoes of ray aunt, with whom I live.'* 

" Well, my dear child," I said to her, 
" show me where you dwell ; I will visit 
you, and I am sure I will bring you some- 
thing worth more than money." 

She showed us a small house in the field, 
where she lived, and left us. 

" Is it possible," I then said to the old 
man, " that such things take place among 
you, and that money is necessary to assist 

souls w ho have left this world V 

* Cone. Trid,, sess. vi., can. 15. 



PURGATORY AND INDULGENCES. 



125 



He sighed, and replied only vaguely. 
He was meditative and abstracted, and 
the rest of our walk was spent almost in 
silence. But when we returned to the 
village, taking hold of my arm, he led me, 
without speaking, into a chapel contiguous 
to the church, and whose walls were cov- 
ered with tablets, images, and a multitude of 
votive pictures. " Here," said he, " we 
will speak of purgatory. This is its chapel, 
and these paintings show you what our 
Church believes respecting it." I exclaim- 
ed at the sight of the number and the value 
of these pictures ; and he told me that an 
ancient and wealthy family of the parish 
had brought them at different times from 
Italy, and had piously ornamented the 
ohapel with them. Upon which, I asked 
the old man to explain the meaning of 
those paintings to me ; which he did with 
much animation, in the following words : 

" It is, as the great Bossuet says,* Jesus 
Christ alone, God and Man together, who, 
by His infinite dignity, could offer to God 
a sufficient satisfaction for our sins. But 
■what superabundance there is in Him, who, 
by one single drop of His blood, could have 
redeemed ten thousand worlds! What 
merits, also, have superabounded in His 
holy and blessed Mother, in that Virgin, 
whose glory fills the heavens ! And, lastly, 
what merits, again, superabound in those 
friends of God, in those saints, who, on 
earth, by charitable satisfactions, to do 
which they were not obligated, have pre- 
pared, together with the blessed Virgin, 
and especially with Jesus Christ, the heav- 
enly and inexhaustible treasure of those 
indulgences which the holy father, and 
with him the archbishops, and even bish- 
ops, dispense, in their proper time, for the 
relief of the souls of the faithful! For 
that treasure could not remain useless, as 
one of our doctors expresses it ;t and is 
it not expedient that the Spouse of the 
Church should enrich his children with it ? 
According,J;oo, to the express doctrine of 
one of the sovereign pontiffs, this treas- 
ure, which was not covered with a napkin, 
has become that of all the souls to whom 
the blessed Door-keeper of Heaven, the 
Prince of Apostles, and his successors, 
open and consecrate it."| 

" Thus," I said, " this treasure is like a 
reservoir, where the glory of God mingles 
with the merits of His creatures, and where 
the righteousness of the Holiest of the holy 
is confounded with that of poor sinners ! 
What a medley, dear sir ; and if the Church 
of Rome imagines it a reality, do the Holy 
Scriptures believe it possible, or, rather, do 
they not condemn the idea of if? That 
the Lord Jesus has infinite merits, and that 



* Exposit. of the Doctr. of the Cath. Church, etc. 
art. viii. 

t De la Hogue, Tract, de Pccnit., Dublin, 1825. 
i Clement VI., Bulla Unigenitus. 



His Church is enriched by them, is what 
the Gospel proclaims to the universe. But 
that the sons of Adam, saved by grace 
through faith in the blood of the Son of 
God, ever have merits, and especially su- 
perabundant merits, is what the whole Bi- 
ble contradicts and condemns as a crimi- 
nal heresy. What, then, should be thought 
of those ' works of the saints,' which, you 
say, would serve not only for their souls, 
but still more to other sinners who never 
performed them V 

" You forget the communion of the 
saints," replied the old man, " and that it is 
written that ' if one of the members of the 
body is honored, all are honored with it.' " 

" I have read, it is true, somewhere," I 
resumed, with a tone of simplicity, " that 
the sentiment of your theologians is, that 
one penitent can accomplish the satisfac- 
tion imposed on him by the Church, by 
means of another, worthier or holier than 
he ; and that thus, on this principle of ' the 
communion of saints,' the Bishop of E vreux, 
who became cardinal after this deed of 
charity, went to Rome to undergo, from the 
Great Penitentiary's hand, and in place of 
Henry IV., the flagellation due the latter 
on entering the Romish Church.* Is it in 
this way, by proxy, that the good deeds 
others have done are attributed to me ?" 

"The Church teaches," the old man 
gravely replied, "that he who takes the 
load, bears it also for those who are but 
one same body with him."t 

" I should never have thought so," I con- 
tinued, with decision; "as the Scriptures 
say that ' the wickedness of the wicked shall 
be upon him,' and that, before God's just 
and holy Law, ' each shall bear his own 
burden,' and shall answer for himself. J But, 
finally, be so good as to continue, and tell 
me for what object this treasure exists, and 
is used ; whether it operates on the present 
sufferings of the faithful, or only for their 
imitation 1" 

" It is true," the old man continued, " I 
should have begun differently. Learn, then, 
that the Church teaches that immediately 
after having left this life, the particular judg- 
ment of all souls is made, who, according 
to their merits, are sent either to Paradise 
or to hell, or else to purgatory. The first 
are those in whom no sin remains. The 
second, those who die in mortal sin ; and 
the third, those who, though dead in a state 
of grace, had not wholly satisfied for their 
sins." 

" But, as those souls had known God's 
grace on earth, the punishment of their 
sins is then remitted'?" 

"Yes, as to eternal condemnation, but 
not as to temporal chastisement. Now, 

* Suarez, torn, iv., Disp. 38, sect. 9, Nouv. du Pap., 
part i., p. Ill, and part ii., p. 77 (Lenfant, Preservat.). 
t Rhem. Ann., in Col., i., sect. 1 (W.;. 
X Ezek., xviii., 20. Gal., vi., 5. 2 Cor., v., 10. 



126 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



as the latter can be undergone either in 
this world or in the other, the Church has 
the right to remit them, either here below, 
or after this life. This remission is called 
an INDULGENCE, and it is to enjoy it that 
souls go to purgatory, where they are pu- 
rified, for a longer or shorter time, till they 
have received all the temporal chastise- 
ment their sins still deserve."* 

" But by what means, pray, are these 
souls delivered either from part, or even 
from all of these punishments ]" 

" Follow me," said the old man, " and you 
shall know." He then led me before some 
paintings, above which were labels, which 
he told me to read. One of them, placed 
over a picture of the Virgin, bore these 
words : " Our holy father, Sixtus IV., ac- 
corded eleven thousand years of pardon to 
whoever recites devoutly an Ave Maria 
before this picture," etc. Under another 
painting was written, " Whoever, during 
one year, will daily recite, before this true 
portrait of St. Bridget, the prayer of that 
saint, will deliver fifteen souls of his near- 
est relatives from purgatory, will convert 
fifteen souls here below, and will cause fif- 
teen other persons of his family to perse- 
vere in holiness ; and he will even receive 
from God all he asks, even were it his 
soul's salvation." Elsewhere I read again, 
" Whoever will contemplate with devotion 
the arms of this crucifix, thinking of the 
Saviour's sufferings, will receive from our 
holy father, St. Peter, first Pope of Rome, 
and from thirty other popes his successors, 
three thousand years of pardon for mortal 
sins, and three thousand others for venial 
sins."f 

" Is it possible !" I exclaimed ; " even 
for mortal sins !" 

" I know," answered the old man, " that 
some doctors are not of this opinion ; but 
the Church, yes, the body of the Church, 
agrees in it, and maintains that the pope 
has this power." 

" And are these," I inquired, " the rep- 
resentations of this middle hell T' 

" Call it not a hell,'" the old man replied, 
severely ; " in purgatory there is no curse. 
It is God's tender love, as well as His in- 
finite and most wise justice, which pre- 
pared that place, where, by means of some 
temporal punishment (for eternal punish- 
ment was entirely remitted at their birth|), 
His dear children are cleansed from all 
pollution, and thus made worthy of heav- 
en, where nothing impure should enter." 

" But it seems to me," I said, " that this 
much resembles the opinion of the hea- 

* Abridg. of Catech., etc., less. 14. Cone. Trid., 
sess. XXV. Bellarm., De Purgat., liber. Catech. Cone. 
Trid., pars, i., c. 6, ^ 5. 

t HorcB beatissimoB Virginis Maries, cum quindecim 
orationibus beatcs Brigitce, Parisiis, 1533. 

t Bossuet, Exposit., ^ 8. Bellarm., Be Purgat., 
lib. i., c. 14. 



then on the state of souls after death. 
You doubtless remember what Plato said 
on the souls which, after this life, go to be 
whirled around in a vast marsh, till they 
have expiated their sins ; and what Virgil 
also says on those winds which continu- 
ally move them, on those gaping abysses 
above which those spirits are suspended, 
and those flames tormenting them."* 

" That proves to you," resumed the old 
man, " that ' the light of truth,' as the great 
Bellarmine said,f 'always had some spark 
in man's heart.' But let us continue ; and 
now remark these three large pictures, 
which together represent the whole purga- 
tory, which is a vast place, situated, I think, 
in the centre of the earth." 

"Are you sure of thatV I inquired. 
" Last night, when turning over some wri- 
tings of your theologians, in your library^ 
I thought I saw many diflferent opinions on 
this point. Your great Bellarmine, as you 
call him, mentions, I believe, as many as 
eight. Thus some consider purgatory only 
a spiritual state, a world without matter.:[ 
Others place it with the demons, in the 
middle regions of the air.^ Others assert 
that purgatory and hell are the same, ex- 
cept in the duration of the punishments. 
Others, again, establish it on earth, here 
and there, in the apparitions of spirits, and 
such things. II Finally, a considerable num- 
ber of doctors do not hesitate to decide 
that it is in the bowels of our globe. ^ 
Whom must I believe T" 

" As for myself," the old man answered, 
"I agree with the latter, and these pic- 
tures represent my belief. First, here is 
hell, where souls, together with the feel- 
ing of privation, experience that of eternal 
suffering. This place, then, is not pur- 
gatory .** The latter is composed of three 
distinct divisions. In the first, souls suf- 
fer, and even severely, but where they 
have only the feeling of temporal pain; 
for they know how long they will suff'er." 

"But, sir, these souls are beyond the 
limits of time ; how, then, can they judge 
as to more or less of this duratioii V 

" All is mystery in God, sir. Be certain, 
then, that He has some way to make them 
know when the end of their trial will be." 

" But pray, of what nature is this horri- 
ble suffering, which still is, you say, but 
one of the proceedings of God's immense 
love?" 

The old man (a little embarrassed). "I 
know that the Church has not always de- 
cided that question, and that in more than 
one council there have been different 



* Phasdon, p. 315. JEneid, vi., 733 {Preservat.). 

t Bellarm., De Purgat., c. xi. 

X Ibid., ii., 6. Aquin., iii., 541. Faber, ii., 48 (V. P.). 

^ Alex., ix., 352. Bed., iii., 19 (Id.). 

II Greg., Dial, iv.. 40. Aquin., iii., 544 (Id.). 

f Faber, ii., 49 (Id.). 

*♦ Bellarm., De Purgat , lib. i., cap. 6. 



PURGATORY AND INDULGENCES. 



127 



opinions respecting it; that thus, some 
have determined that darkness, tempest, 
snow, hail, and frost are the chastisements 
of purgatory ; that, on the other hand, St. 
Perpetua, in one of her revelations, savi^ 
an immense lake, which the souls, devour- 
ed continually by burning thirst, could not 
approach ; that other saints have had vis- 
ions, such as those of tv^^o baths, one boil- 
ing, the other freezing, which the souls 
were Continually obliged to enter alter- 
nately. But a pretty general belief of the 
Church is that of a fire, yes, a material 
and flaming fire, which torments — what do 
I say 1 — which purifies the souls deserving 
of purgatory. Gregory the Great asserts 
it ; and who could know better than he ] 
He says, that in the centre of the earth, 
and under the Mediterranean Sea, are the 
fires of purgatory, whose vents are Vesu- 
vius and Mlna; which he proves by de- 
claring that the soul of the heretic The- 
odoric, king of the Goths, was seen in 
Sicily, the 30th of August, 526, thrown into 
a burning abyss, which is confirmed by 
the blessed Surius, the Carthusian, who 
reports that frequently, in the eruptions of 
Mount Heckla, souls are seen to appear, 
who, in a voice of thunder, warn the living 
to take heed to their works, to serve God 
and the saints."* 

" But, dearest sir, how can souls, spirits 
without bodily feelings, be aff'ected by a 
material and sensible fire V 

The old man {firmly). " Yes, yes, I know 
that Bellarmine makes this objection, and 
that he inclines toward the idea of a meta- 
physical fire. As for myself, I never, if I 
may say so, diverge from the Church. 
But let us pursue our subject. Here, then, 
secondly, is the Limbo of children, where 
the fire of hell cannot enter, and where 
nothing is found but privation of holiness, 
without feeling of pain. Children remain 
here eternally." 

" Without feeling of pain, do you say 1 
Why, then, but a few days ago, did one of 
your colleagues (I vi^ould, dear and worthy 
friend, that he had your heart) tell a moth- 
er, who repeated it to me, that her infant, 
who accidentally died without baptism, 
continually climbs a high wall, beyond 
which is paradise, but that he will never 
be able to pass it, because he always falls 
down again when he approaches its sum- 
mit 1 Will that poor little creature, there- 
fore, remain indifferent under that griev- 
ous punishment 1 Ah ! sir, those who in- 
vented that Limbo of children,''' I added, sol- 
emnly, " were not fathers. They rejected 
marriage, which God had blessed ; they 
also renounced its affections ; and as for 
them, what did they care whether little chil- 
dren are withheld from heaven or not V 

" You are very serious," said the old 



* Gneg., Dial, iv., 30, 35. Bellarm., ii., 10, 11. 
Surius, Annot., 1537, etc. (V. P.). 



man. " But I understand you—" He did 
not finish ; he groaned, as if at some pain- 
ful recollection ; then he resumed, saying, 

" I say, then, thirdly, here is the Limbo 
of the Patriarchs ; that is to say, of the faith- 
ful who died before the coming of Jesus 
Christ. It was entirely full in time past ; 
but now it is empty, because the soul of 
Jesus Christ descended into it, and with- 
drew from it, as St. Peter tells us, all the 
souls which, since Noah's day, were im- 
prisoned there." 

" Here," I said, " are many things which, 
1 acknowledge, somewhat surprise me. I 
have never believed any thing but Scrip- 
ture up to this moment, and I never saw 
there even the shghtest allusion to the doc- 
trine you have just exposed. For, setting 
aside, at last, all the differences of opin- 
ion of your theologians on this much-dis- 
puted point, let us see what passages of 
the Holy Book they quote to support their 
doctrine. If I am rightly informed, it is, 
first, what the Lord Jesus says about that 
prison where the debtor, chastised by his 
master, will remain ' till he shall have paid 
all he owes ;' then what the Saviour says 
about him whose sins will never be remit- 
ted ' in the world to come ;' then, farther, 
what is written about those whose work 
will be consumed, but who will escape ' as 
it were by fire.' Again, what St. Peter 
says of Christ, that ' He went and preach- 
ed to the spirits in prison.' And, finally, 
what is said in one of the apochryphal 
books about a prayer for the dead* But, 
dear sir, this last passage not being in the 
Book of God, I put it aside ; and as to the 
others, where is a single word mentioned 
in them about purgatory 1 The first quo- 
tation speaks of temporal punishments, of 
troubles inflicted on an obdurate and un- 
compassionate disciple. The ^econdl shows 
that the sin against the Holy Spirit is un- 
pardonahle. The third declares that the 
persecution which will destroy the un- 
scriptural work of a preacher, will spare 
him, if, at least, he has laid the ' found- 
ation-stone of faith,' which is Christ ; 
and, to close, the fourth teaches that, in 
Noah's day, and by that believer's words, 
the Lord preached to the same souls which 
are now, as St. Peter also says, ' delivered 
into chains of darkness, to be reserved 
unto judgment.'! From all this, how, I 
ask, can it be deduced that there is a mid- 
dle place between death and the judgment 
of GodT And how can this be thought, 
when it is written, ' After death follows the 
judgment V "| 

" Perhaps so ! perhaps so !" the old man 
repeated, half convinced. " And yet, tra- 
dition is uniform in regard to it ; for all 
antiquity has but one voice on this point." 

* Matth., xviii., 32 ; id., xii., 32. 1 Cor., iii., 15. 
1 Pet., iii., 19. 2 Mace, xii., 44. 
t 2 Peter, u., 4. % Hebr., ix., 27. 



128 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



CONTRARY TESTIMONY RESPECTING PURGA- 
TORY. 

" You are greatly mistaken," I replied. 
*' No where, on the contrary, in any one 
of the Fathers, for more than three centu- 
ries after the Lord's ascension, is a single 
word said on this doctrine of your Church." 

"Are you certain of that?" asked the 
old man, with vivacity. 

" You have," I said, " several of the wri- 
tings of the Fathers in your library ; and 
though 1 am not well prepared to quote 
them, yet I can point out some of their 
principal declarations to you, and you can 
verify them. Of course, I agree, that sev- 
eral of the Greek Fathers, and Origen par- 
ticularly, whom the others have followed, 
mention a general conflagration, which, 
they say, will precede the last judgment, 
and through which the whole human race 
must pass, the Virgin Mary included. The 
Latin Fathers, I also know, have not been 
strangers to this doctrine, or, rather, to 
this supposition. But yet none of those 
of the first four centuries ever wrote the 
word purgatory, nor even advanced the 
idea of it. If, in the fourth century, Hila- 
ry, Ambrose, and Lactantius spoke of this 
fire, it was under the same meaning as 
Tertullian and Cyprian had done before 
them ; it was always concerning the gen- 
eral conflagration, the universal fire pre- 
pared for the good as well as the wicked, 
that they treated. Later, Augustine ex- 
pressed a doubt on the subject ; this doubt 
was immediately seized as an oracle ; 
it spread into the next century; and at 
last, Gregory, though at first undecided, 
after having sometimes spoken of water, 
changed his opinion, and advanced the 
doctrine of ' an intermediate state between 
heaven and hell ;' a place of preparation 
for souls saved, but still unworthy of glo- 
ry. In the following centuries, the truth, 
I agree, was continually more and more 
lost, and heresies were multiplied. But 
still, purgatory, as it is now taught, was 
not yet described. On the contrary, Da- 
mian, in the middle of the eleventh cen- 
tury, represents the soul of Severinus, 
-bishop of Cologne, as purified in water ; 
and Pope Benedict IX., in the same cen- 
tury, is represented by his historian as 
•dwelling, in the other world, in the form 
of a monstrous beast, which it must retain 
till the day of judgment.* 

" In the middle of the twelfth century, 
this doctrine was not yet established. 
Oiho, the historian, speaks of it as only 
being the peculiar opinion of a certain 
number of doctors ;t and it was, really, 
only in 1438, in the Council of Florence, 
that it received the sanction which the 
Council of Trent confirmed ; but notice in 



Platina, De Vit. ac. gest. Sum. Pont. Vita Bened. 
t Otho, Chronic, viii., 26 (V. P.). 



what way. Eight or ten of the few mem- 
bers of the council, who still remained, 
were charged to prepare the formula of a 
decree on this point. Their embarrass- 
ment was great. Scripture was silent 
about it, or, rather, opposed it. Traditions 
were feeble and contradictory. They did 
not dare to enter into a discussion, lest the 
victory should accrue to the Protestants, 
as certain Fathers of the council did not 
approve the doctrine. At last the decree 
was adopted, very hastily, in the last ses- 
sion, and in such terms as led some to say 
that ' the council ordered that purgatory 
should be taught, without defining its mean- 
ing ;' and others, that ' the Council of 
Trent had even more authority than the 
Council of the Apostles,' since the latter 
had said, ' It hath seemed good to the Spir- 
it and to us,' while at Trent they had said, 
' It hath seemed good to us, while the Ho- 
ly Spirit was not invoked.'* This, dear 
sir, is what has occurred as to purgatory. 
The apostolical and universal Church nev- 
er knew nor imagined it ; and its enthrone- 
ment in that of Rome was only a fraud. 
It is, moreover, what that of indulgences 
was, whose origin, likewise, does not date 
at a more distant period." 

"What do you sayV returned the old 
man, with warmth. " Even in the times 
of the first martyrs it was one of their 
highest privileges to procure indulgen- 
ces." 

" It is true," I replied, " that from the 
first centuries, when some excommunica- 
ted member of the Church found the punish- 
ment imposed on him too heavy, he some- 
times addressed one of the confessors of 
the faith, then in prison or in exile, pray- 
ing him to intercede for him, not with 
God, but merely with the Church, under 
whose discipline the punished member 
was ; and that frequently that Church, in 
consideration of the believer who made 
the request, exercised indulgence, as they 
then said, to the chastised disciple, and re- 
ceived him more readily to the peace of 
the Church. It was an abuse of discipline 
certainly ; but, whatever it was, there was 
a wide difference between that indulgence, 
which was but the diminution of an entire- 
ly worldly, arbitrary, and human punish- 
ment, and these Romish indulgences of 
which you speak, which relate to punish- 
ment beyond this world, and which, above 
all, intrude upon the dominion of God !" 

" I own," replied the old man, '• that 
there is some diff'erence. But still the 
Church always recognized the utility of 
indulgences, which her love has prudent- 
ly used to relieve, here below, those of her 
children who, on their part, satisfy Divine 
justice ; and, in the invisible world, to te- 

* Fra Paolo, Hist, of the Cone, of Trent, book viii, 
p. 797 (1609). 



PURGATORY AND INDULGENCES. 



129 



lieve those rendered worthy of it hj their 
piety."* 

CONTRARY TESTIMONY ON INDULGENCES. 

" Alas ! dear sir," I repUed, " that word 
always, which the Council of Trent marked 
as with a red-hot iron on all the doctrines 
she decreed, usually means sometimes, oft- 
en never, as — " 

" 1 pray you," said the old curate, with 
an expressive gesture, " not to go so far ; 
for you accuse a holy council of having 
lied.'' 

" Ah 1 sir," I immediately resumed, " is 
it not lying to affirm with certainty what 
one knows is false, or at least doubtfuU 
And was it not in the same Council of 
Trent that debates and formal oppositions 
arose concerning both the nature of indul- 
gences and the reality and antiquity of their 
use 1 And was it not in haste, also, and 
as if by surprise, that this practice was 
there decreed ^f Indeed, what did the 
Fathers of the Church think on this sub- 
ject ] Had they not unanimously taught 
that the Gospel, being a law of grace, an- 
nounces and brings to the sinner who be- 
lieves in Jesus the surest and most com- 
plete pardon of all his sins 1 

" Thus, Clement of Alexandria had said 
in the year 220, respecting man's satisfac- 
tion for his sins, ' Would the grace which 
is not plenary be the grace of God 1 When 
God forgives, is it not in a full and perfect 
manner]'! And Tertullian had written, 
* Who art thou that wouldst imitate God 
in remitting sins 1 If thou hast no sin, then 
suffer for thee and us also. But if thou 
art a sinner, how can the oil of thy little 
lamp suffice for thee and me V^ And what 
had Jerome saidl Ah! had the Church 
of Rome heard and followed him, would 
these pictures ever have been made 1 
' Every man,' he says, ' according to an 
apostle's declaration, shall bear his own 
hurden.' This short sentence, then, tells 
us that, as long as we are in the present 
life, we can, indeed, help each other by our 
good advice and our prayers ; but as soon 
as we come to God's tribunal, neither Job, 
Daniel, nor Noah|j can pray for any one ; 
for there, each must bear his own burden.^ 
If, then, we confide in any one, let it be 
in God alone ; for it is written, ' Cursed 
be he that putteth his trust in man,' even in 
the greatest saints and prophets. ' There- 
fore,' he says, again, 'it is good to trust 
neither in the powerful nor in princes ; 
not only the princes of the world, but even 
the princes of the Church ; who, if they 
are righteous, will dehver their own souls, 



* Abridg. of Catech., etc., lessons 12 and 45. £x- 
.posit.. etc., art. 8. 

t Fra Paolo, His?., etc., lib. viii.,p.774. Pallavic, 
Hist. Cone. Trid., lib. xxiv., c. 8. 

% Clem. Alex., Pcsdag., lib. i., c. 6 (P. E.). 

I TertulL, De Pudicit., c. 22. || Ezek., xiv., 20. 

^ Hieronym., in. Gal., vi., and in Ezek., xiv. 

R 



but not those of their sons or their daugh- 
ters.' 

" Thus spoke the Fathers. And was it 
not also a Pope of Rome who wrote in one 
of his letters, ' The just have received 
crowns, but they have given none] and 
from the fortitude of the faithful have re- 
sulted examples of patience, but not gifts 
of righteousness. For the death of each 
concerned him alone, and by it none among 
them ever paid the debt of another.'* If 
from these evangelical sentiments of the 
Fathers we pass on to the testimonies of 
the doctors of the Church respecting indul- 
gences, what does the history tell us ] First, 
it is entirely silent on that doctrine, as we 
have already seen, till the eleventh centu- 
ry ; and from that epoch, what does it tell 
us of the opinions of the most celebrated 
theologians on this point ] It presents to 
us the most formal decisions against in- 
dulgences. Let us hear a few of them. 

" In the fourteenth century, the Bishop of 
Meaux, Durandus, surnamed the most res- 
olute doctor, and considered one of the lights 
of his age, declares beforehand that the 
fathers of the Council of Trent lied ; for he 
says, ' One can say nothing but what is 
very uncertain about indulgences ; as nei- 
ther Scripture nor the fathers speak ex- 
pressly of them.'t Some time after him, 
the Archbishop of Florence bears the same 
witness, in the same terms, and contradicts 
what was then advanced on certain indul- 
gences of Pope Gregory.! In the fifteenth 
century, the schoolman Gabriel Biel de- 
clares that ' till the time of Gregory VII. 
( 1085) , indulgences were almost unknown. '^ 
At the same time Cardinal Cajetan thus ex- 
presses himself: 'We have no certainty 
as to the origin of indulgences, and we do 
not possess thereon any authority in wri- 
ting, either of the Holy Scriptures, or of 
the ancient fathers, or of the Latin and 
Greek doctors. '|| And he adds, comment- 
ing on these words of St, Peter,T[ ' There 
shall be false teachers among you, who 
through covetousness shall with feigned 
words make merchandise of you.' [Here 
the dear old man to whom I spoke sighed 
painfully, remembering, doubtless, the little 
girl and the twelve cents which the mass 
was to cost, which were assuredly her own 
earnings.] — 'Such are these mercenary 
preachers, who, for money, .abuse the de- 
votion of Christian people, daring to preach 
from rash ignorance, that those who pay 
a carlin or a ducate' (renewed sighs from 
the old man) 'for what they call a plenary 
indulgence, are in the same condition as if 
they had just been baptized, and that they 
even deliver a soul from purgatory. Such 



* Leo I., Epist. Ixxxiii., ad Palmst (P. E.). 

t Sent, lib. iv., Dist. 20, Quaest. 3. 

% Sum. S. TheoL, pars i., tit. 10. 

^ In Can. Miss., lect. 57. 

11 Tract, de Indulg., c. 2. f 2 Pet., ii., 1, 3. 



130 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



declarations are monstrous, and it is only 
making traffic of tlie people ; the Christian 
religion, also, condemns it.'* 

" Still later, in the sixteenth century, 
yes, sir, when Zwingle and Luther arose 
with so much indignation against this same 
doctrine, does not Polydorus Virgil ac- 
knowledge that 'the theologians are in 
much trouble to know why indulgences 
were established V\ But especially let us 
hear what Cardinal Fisher, that Bishop of 
Rochester, who was a martyr for the pope's 
cause in England, says about it. ' As to 
indulgences,^ he writes, ' it is uncertain by 
whom they were instituted. As to purga- 
tory, it is not mentioned by the elders ; 
even at the present day the Greek Church 
does not believe it. The belief, both of 
indulgences and of purgatory, was not ne- 
cessary to the primitive Church. As long 
as purgatory was not regarded, indulgen- 
ces were not sought after. If you take 
the former away, what need is there of in- 
dulgences vx 

" Finally, to sum up the examination of 
this whole question, let us hear, farther, 
what Alphonso de Castro confessed, in the 
same (sixteenth) century, when, after hav- 
ing owned that the doctrine of indulgences 
was quite recent in the Church of Rome, 
he nevertheless justifies by this reflection, 
quite innocently on his part, but which is 
of great importance to the truth : ' It is 
the same with this belief as with several 
others ; such as transubstantiation and pur- 
gatory ; the ancients did not know them, 
it is true, but what is there astonishing in 
that, since God daily gives new light to 
the Church'?'*^ You hear, dear sir, it is to 
temporary expediency, and not to estab- 
lished faith, that the Church had, then, re- 
course, in preparing and decreeing her dog- 
mas. Where was the Bible, then, placed 1 
Who ever thought, then, that there is a 
Holy Spirit, and that to give for truth w^hat 
it does not teach is — to lie V 

" Indeed," said the old curate, walking 
in the chapel, " indeed, if these things are 
so, what do these pictures mean 1 and es- 
pecially (sighing painfully), what have I 
taught till now]" 

"Alas! respected friend," I continued, 
" you have repeated what j^ou heard. Now, 
if you f^o to the Bible, it will tell you 
that these are only fables ; and if you con- 
sult history, it will demonstrate to you, as 
1 have already shown, that indulgences 
sprung up, or at least gained some foothold, 
in the Romish Church in the time, and by 
the authority, of Pope Urban II., who pub- 
lished them in favor of the Crusaders, who 
went to reconquer the Holy Land; then 
you will perceive, and, I am sure, with pain 
and contempt, that Pope Leo X., in order to 



* In 2 Pet., ii., 1, 3. + De Inv. rer., lib. viii., c. 1. 
X J. Fisher, Luth. Cortfut., art. 15, 18. 
ij Adv. hasres., lib. viii., De Indulg. 



procure the sum requisite for the construc- 
tion of the Basilic of St. Peter, published 
first a plenary indulgence for whosoever 
would contribute of his money to it ; next, 
he gave the benefit of the indulgences sold 
in Saxony to his sister Magdalene, wife of 
Cibo, son of Pope Innocent VIII. ; and, 
lastly, that this benefit he'mg farmed out to 
an archbishop, the latter filled Germany 
with indulgence-sellers, who, in terms and 
by practices the most sacrilegious, sold 
them to the rich and poor, to the great 
among the people and to the multitude, 
and collected enormous sums, till the day 
when two valiant servants of the Lord 
Jesus, Luther in Saxony, and Zwingle in 
Switzerland, arose with power and intre- 
pidity against those villanies." 

" Stay !" said the old man, taking mine 
in his trembling hands. " Be moderate, I 
pray you, for I fear lest you should profane 
this holy chapel." 

These last words died away on his lips, 
and I replied, bowing with respect, " For- 
give this indignation. But how can one 
speak without emotion of doctrines and 
practices both odious in their nature and 
opposite to God's Word and the merits of 
the Lord Jesus V 

" But, my friend," said he, anxiously, 
" is it indeed so T Are not indulgencesy 
on the contrary, a favor of the Church for 
the souls of the faithful V 

" A favor, say you "?" I exclaimed. " Ah I 
that which is favor to a soul is to teach it 
what Jesus did for his people ; to instruct 
it, from the Word of God, that the blood 
of the Saviour received by faith purifies 
from all sin, both mortal and venial (though 
this distinction is but imaginary) ; it is to 
repeat to it that this glorious and powerful 
Saviour has fully and forever satisfied for 
all the sins, past, present, and future, of 
the Church which he loved ; it is to show 
with care that all Scripture bears this con- 
stant and powerful testimony.* Yes, my 
venerable friend, that is favor to the peo- 
ple to speak to them of God's grace, of the 
Saviour's infinite compassion, of the bound- 
less efficacy of His sacrifice, of the facility 
of salvation, which is a gift, entirely open 
AND ACCESSIBLE, of God's lovc in his Son, 
and not a laborious, long, and impossible 
undertaking of man, ever of man, and al- 
ways of his pride and self-righteousness. 

" This is a favor, and the only one deserv- 
ing that name. But as to the doctrine of 
indulgences, and that of purgatory, which 
forges and gives currency to them, ah ! 
dear sir, as long as the Bible speaks, it 
will tell me that ' after death follows the 
judgment,' and not merely a particular 



* 1 Tim., ii., 5. Matth., xx., 28. 1 John, iv., 10. 
2 Cor., v., 20. Heb.,x.,14. Col.,ii., 14. John, xix., 
30. 1 Pet., ii., 23. Is., liii., 5. 1 John, i., 7, 9 ; ii., 
1, 2. Rom., v., 10 ; viii., i., 33. Heb., i., 3 ; ix., 34, 
Rev.,vii., 14. 



PURGATORY AND INDULGENCES. 



131 



judgment ; that when the righteous is de- 
stroyed, he is taken away from that which 
is evil, and not that he falls into it ; that 
then his ' mortality is swallowed up of 
life,' and not by flames and pains ; that 

* his spirit returns unto God,' and not unto 
punishment ; that he departs from this life 
to ' be with Christ,' and not to groan apart 
from Him for ages ; that ' precious in the 
sight of the Lord is the death of His 
saints,' and not that it is accomplished un- 
der His indignation, even His paternal in- 
dignation ; that their Father ' remembers 
their iniquities no more,' and not that he 
punishes them with anguish and flames ; 
that then these dear children of God ' rest 
from their labors,' and not that they be- 
gin more wearisome ones than ever ; that 
' the crown of righteousness is given to 
them by the righteous Judge,' and not that 
they are thrown by Him into a frightful 
prison ; that their souls go where already 
are ' the spirits of just men made perfect,'* 
and not that they go to groan far from the 
abode of their brethren. 

" This is what the Bible says to the faith- 
ful ; and it adds, that their Good Shepherd 
and High Priest, who told them, ' Ye are 
clean through the words which I have 
spoken unto you,' also told them that 

* He went to prepare a mansion for them 
in heaven' (and not a purgatory !) ; that, as 
He asked of His Father, ' they may be 
with Him where He is.' It was also for 
this that the martyr Stephen, when he was 
committing his soul to the Saviour, 'saw 
the heavens opened' (and not a flaming 
PURGATORY !) ; and, like him, all the faithful 
to whom God has deigned to give it, know 
and understand that beyond this world 
their spirit is inseparably united to Jesus, 
and that it is impossible that their souls, 
*■ which are sealed by the Holy Spirit,' 
should ever descend to a place of torment, 
for the Holy Spirit cannot go thither.f 

"No, no, dear and venerable friend, it 
was not by feeble man, but by the al- 
mighty power of God, that Jesus saved 
His Church. Wherefore, to imagine the 
•existence of satisfactions, indulgences, or a 
purgatory, is implicitly to deny the Divine 
nature of the Redeemer ; it is to deny His 
union with the Church ; it is to deny the 
curse under which He suff"ered ; yes, it is 
to deny that He was God, that He was a 
Saviour ; it is (I repeat it again) — it is to 

LIE \ 

CONTRARY TESTIMONY ON THE STATE OF SOULS 
AFTER DEATH. 

" Look once more, respected friend, at 
what the Fathers of the Church have 
thought. ' At death,' says Justin Martyr, 



* Heb., ix., 27. Is., Ivii., 1. 2 Cor., v., 4. Eccles., 
xii., 7. Phil, i., 23. Ps. cxvi., 15. Jer., xxxi., 34. 
Rev., xiv., 14. 2 Tim., iv., 8. Heb., xii., 23. 

i John, XV., 3 ; xiv., 1-3 ; xvii., 24. Acts, vii., 
.56. Eph., i., 13, 14. 



' a separation of the good from the bad is 
made, and the former go to Paradise.'* 
' The wicked,' says Irenaeus, ' go, then, 
to an eternal fire, and the just,' says Cyp- 
rian, ' are called to the refuge prepared 
for them. Then salvation is immediately 
given to the just, and chastisement falls 
on the wicked. For as soon as the term 
of this mortal life is accomplished, we are 
sent to the 'eternal dwellings, either of 
death or of immortality.'! ' I beheve,' 
says Gregory Nazianzen, ' that the souls 
of the good, when freed from their bonds, 
immediately enjoy ineffable pleasure, and 
that, in the fullness of joy, they fly away 
to their God. 'J ' I refuse to think,' says 
Cyril, ' that the souls of the faithful go to 
a place of torment ; for it is writtea that 
they will always be with Christ.'^ ' When 
we leave this world,' says Chrysostom, 
' there will no more be time to repent or 
eff"ace our sins.'|| ' He who, on this side 
of the tomb,' says Ambrose, ' shall not 
have received remission of his sins, will 
not, on the other, be with the blessed ; for 
punishments profit no more after death; 
and it is for that reason that David, while 
he was in the body, suffered those chas- 
tisements which God dispensed to him, 
that after these trials he might be received 
by the Lord.'^ ' In the day of death,' 
says Gregory L,,'the good or bad spirit 
takes possession of a soul, and keeps it 
forever without any change.'** ' The Uni- 
versal Church,' said Augustine (before he 
had been misled), ' believes in heaven, 
whither the just go, and in hell, where those 
who have not believed in Christ suffer 
eternally. As to a third place, we are en- 
tirely ignorant of it, and we cannot find 
even a trace of it in the Holy Scriptures.'ff 
' We are not allowed,' Pope Gelasius says 
furthermore, ' to judge of the fate of any 
soul whatever, otherwise than by the 
state wherein the judgment of God finds it 
in the day when it leaves the world. 'JJ 
' There are,' says, lastly, the Abbe of 
Clairvaux, ' but three places : heaven, earth, 
and hell. Heaven contains the good only ; 
on earth there is a mingling of the good 
and bad ; in hell there are only the wick- 
ed.'^^ These are the Fathers ; these are 
the Doctors of the Church ; and they have 
spoken according to the Bible. You must 
also acknowledge, dear sir, that the lan- 
guage of those lips is much more power- 
ful than the imaginations of which you 
spoke to me a little while ago." 
" But," replied the old man, with a ges- 



* Quaest., Ixxv. 

t Iran., lib. i., c. 2. Cyp., in Serm. de mart. Id., ad 
Demel, sect. xvi. X In Encom. Cms. 

<^ In Evang. Joh., c. 36. 1| Horn. 2, Be Lazaro. 

^ De bono mortis, c. 2. Id., in 2 Sam., xii. (W.). 
** Moral., in Job, i., 8, c. 8. Ibid., i., 12, c. 4. 
tt Aug., Adv. Pelag. 

ii Gelas., caus. xxiv., Quaest. iii., c. 4 (W.). 
\^ In Senteat., c. 9 (C. T.). 



132 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



ture of grief, " if that is so, what is it the 
Church does when she orders us these 
things, and when she does it from God? 
What, then, is her intention ? What is the 
ultimate design of such doctrines'?" 

" Shall I wound your feelings," I replied, 
" if I put you in mind of what we saw this 
morning, and at which your heart (is it not 
so ?) suffered bitterly 1 You heard the sob- 
bing of that poor little girl, and what she 
said about the payment." 

" Ah ! let us not repeat that !" exclaimed 
the old man, passing his hand over his fore- 
head ; " that money weighs on my heart." 

" But, my worthy friend, if you feel so, 
now many there are who think quite other- 
wise. Do you believe, for instance, that 
every bishop or priest finds fault with the 
TAX of the Romish Chancery,* where one 
ascertains how much must be paid for an 
indulgence or a dispensation, according to 
the sin or crime which it is to remit, or 
from the duty of which it is to give exemp- 
tion, and where all iniquities which can 
be named under the sun are specified, with 
their exact value in gold or silver, deter- 
mined by the pope, aided by the Holy Col- 
lege ? Forgive, forgive, if I oblige you to 
blush for him whom you call the holy fa- 
ther, and if I declare that the college which 
decided how much a parricide, an adulter- 
er, an incestuous or abominable person, 
one who has committed a rape, a murder- 
er, &c., &c., should pay in money to buy 
himself off" from the punishment of his 
crime ; and which decreed that he who shall 
have killed his father must pay /our crowns 
(tournois), but that he who shall have killed 
an abbej must pay twenty-four crowns ; that 
such a college was never presided over by 
the Holy Spirit." 

This conversation had deeply aff"ected 
the old curate. He returned home pen- 
sively, and, on leaving me, pointed toward 
heaven, whither he was looking, but did 
not speak. On the morrow (reader, I re- 
late what I saw and heard !) I found him in 
his library, with a Greek Testament open 
before him, and beside it the Latin Vul- 
gate. 

" You are studying," I said, " the infal- 
lible book?" 

" Yes, my brother," he replied, earnest- 
ly, " infallible indeed ; and, as you see, I 
have taken up the Greek text again. I 
read it in time past, but I have left it for 
several years. I wish to read it again. 
At eighty years of age it is still time to re- 
turn to the only book which does not lead 
astray." 

Our conversation was prolonged on the 
simplicity, sufficiency, power, and triumph- 
ant sublimity of the Word of God, and we 
continued the same discussion in our morn- 



* See, for a detailed account of it, Wolfg. Muscu- 
lus, Comm. places, tit. xxi. 
t A higher order of priests. 



ing walk. Then, on our return (reader, I 
saw and heard it !), the old curate enter- 
ed the Chapel of Purgatory, and, brands 
ishing his cane, he said to me, in Latin, 
calmly, but with firmness, " Let us over- 
throw these idols of falsehood.''''* 

" No," I said,' " for your parishioners 
would not understand you now, and these 
idols would be raised so much the more in 
their estimation ; but may God fortify you, 
and may He give you strength to employ 
the rest of your days in demolishing error 
in these places by the words of the Gospel, 
and thus to withdraw from the net of igno- 
rance the souls which till now you have- 
retained in them." 

" May the Saviour help me !" was the 
answer of this honest and pious man. We 
prayed together in his humble parsonage, 
and when I left him, to see him no more 
in this world, he said, embracing me, " I 
say of you, before my God, ' Blessed be he 
who hath come to me in the name of the 
Lord !' Adieu ! ' The Lord bless thee from 
His holy place !' Adieu ! ' May the Spirit 
of His grace enrich thee more and more 
with the gifts of His Word !' " 

CONCLUSION. 

" Amen !" I said then, reader. Amen ! I 
now repeat with my whole heart. Yes, 
may God make known His Word to me ! It 
is enough for me if His Spirit subjects to 
it my whole heart. You will have seen, 
in the examination which I have now 
made, that I desired that Word to hold the 
first rank, and that it alone should decide 
every question. Doubtless this research 
is very incomplete ; and I assure you that 
I feel all its imperfection. In order to 
render it complete, it would be necessary 
that the subject should be far more thor- 
oughly examined, in several respects. 
There are even several articles, such aa^ 
the Authority of Magistrates, Vows, Dis 
tinction of Meats, Festivals, and Jubilees-; 
with others of minor importance, respeci, 
ing which I put no questions to the Churc/t 
of Rome, either because I thought it use- 
less, or because they are comprehended iij 
other more prominent points. 

In particular, I did not inform myself on 
what Rome thinks respecting the pope^s 
temporal authority, because I believe, ac- 
cording to the prophecies, that " the little 
horn, which had eyes like the eyes of a 
man, and a mouth speaking great things,"! 
and which is also, I think, " the beast hav- 
ing two horns, like the lamb, but speaking 
like the dragon, "J which is elsewhere call- 
ed the "false prophet,"^ has, for more 
than three centuries, received from the 
Word of God, and from the mouth of His 
witnesses, the mortal blow, which will 



* HcBC idola vanitatis detrudamus ! 

t Dan., vii., 8. J Rev., xiii., 1 1. (^ Tbid.,xix., 2a 



CONCLUSION. 



133 



gradually weaken it, till it shall be taken 
and " cast alive into the lake of fire burning 
with brimstone."* I have, therefore, not 
examined this point, because, evidently, 
the pope has no more, any where, that im- 
aginary power of which he was before 
possessor ; because now it would be more 
than difficult for him to make the ambassa- 
dors of emperors and kings kiss his slip- 
per, and especially to place his foot on the 
neck of their masters ; because, if he still 
retains some shadow of authority, as the 
lord of a certain territory, he receives 
from time to time mortifying lessons of 
humiliation ; because, if his bulls are still 
published in some countries of his spirit- 
ual domains, many others forget them or 
laugh at them ; because — and mark it 
well, reader! — if he moves himself to-day, 
and builds churches, makes new saints and 
proclaims jubilees, yet the nations are no 
longer enslaved to him, and the word of 
order of the Reformation, the Bible and 
GRACE, daily rallies the faithful around the 
standard of faith. 

Besides, it was necessary, reader, for 
me to be as succinct as possible, and, in 
presenting to you this exposition, to make 
it only the sketch of a picture which so 
many masterly hands have already paint- 
ed. I have made the attempt, but, not- 
withstanding several omissions, I fear I 
have been too often prolix. But especial- 
ly, in pursuing this research, I had to in- 
quire into old and new things, from many 
witnesses ; and it is in this that I have 
principally felt my insufficiency. If in a 
first labor, very rapidly undertaken and 
terminated, I had often to restrict myself 
to very light sketches, and to consult an- 
tiquity only from a great distance ; in the 
latter, which I was able to pursue more 
deliberately, I nevertheless recognized that 
I had still only touched the borders of the 
subject, the waters of which are as deep 
as they are muddy. 

Lastly, in stating the reality of the facts, 
I had to consult numerous authors; and 
in this. Christian reader, as I had told you 
beforehand, not being able, oftentimes, to 
collect them all around me, I was obliged 
to obtain their answers only by means of 
other writings which contained their dis- 
courses. I have reason to fear, therefore, 
that some errors in the marks, and it may 
be, also, in the terms, have mingled with 
the quotations which I have made, however 
faithful I may have been in reproducing 
them. Excuse all this, I pray you ; and, 
setting aside my manner and style also, 
please give attention only to the founda- 
tion, the substance, of the subject. 

This substance is Jesus Christ. It is 
He alone. His perfect work, which should 
result from this Examination ; as with the 

* Rev., xix., 20, 



mathematician, one simple truth demon- 
strated, springs from a whole heap of dif« 
ferent calculations and connected proofs. 
Jesus Christ, and the gift of eternal life 
which is in Him, is, then, reader, the ba 
sis and result of this research, as it is also 
the force of the conclusion you should 
draw from it. In Him is salvation ; and it 
is for the revelation., administration, and pos- 
session of that everlasting salvation, that 
the Bible was given to man, and that the 
Church of God appears on earth. 

That Church is one; it is spiritual, and 
the Truth is in it. Several forms and 
compartments contain and manifest it here 
below, among much weakness and many 
errors. I was happy and peaceful in one 
of those compartments, where I was born, 
and where I learned what salvation is. 
The Church of Rome advanced toward 
me, and told me that I was misled, and 
that, to be saved, I must renounce my de- 
lusion, and enter her bosom. This sum- 
mons required an examination of her by" 
me ; and I tried to make it by searching 
whetherthe Church of Rome is indeed more 
conformable to the Word of God than the 
Church wherein I found peace. I did it ; 
and I have assured myself that the Church, 
of Rome, as it is now, not only 

(Part I.) Does not attribute to the Holy 
Scriptures due authority, but 

(Part II.) Possesses neither ^wine unity 
of faith, divine infallibility, nor divine perpe- 
tuity ; and still less divine antiquity; and 
that, moreover, 

(Part III.) It offers my soul an equivo- 
cal salvation ; only an aid, and not a Sav- 
iour; and with that a multitude of ordi- 
nances and laws which the Bible disa- 
vows. 

This is what I have found ; and I also 
think I have examined it with all sincerity,, 
and without prejudice. I have seen, fur- 
thermore, that the self-contradictions of 
the Church of Rome (its doubts, its uncer- 
tainties, its inconsistencies) are numerous 
on each subject, and that my spirit could 
find nothing fixed in its doctrines. And^ 
above all, I have seen that Jesus Christ is 
not set forth by the present Church of 
Rome, neither in His divinity, nor in His 
works and offices, nor especially in His 
character as the Lamb of God, slain for the 
redemption of the Church ; that is to say, 
as a propitiatory Victim ; but, on the con- 
trary, by His side, and often in the place 
of that glorious Saviour, the Church of 
Rome exalts man, the dignity of man, the 
work and merits of man ; and thus she not 
only builds on quite another foundation 
from that which the apostles laid, but, still 
more, she does it, as it were, at pleasure, 
with the wood, hay, and stubble of man's 
inventions and practices. This is what I 
have seen and what I see, in all upright- 
ness of conscience, before God. 



134 



THE CHURCH OF ROME EXAMINED. 



Wherefore, after having pondered in my 
soul, and in the presence of the Lord, the 
inquiry whicli I have just made, I conclude 
that, as it is true that I believe the Bible 
in all it says, and above all human doctrine, 

I AM FORBIDDEN BY THIS SAME BiBLE TO EN- 
TER THE Church of Rome as she now is. 
May God, before whom I form this con- 
clusion, and who, in the day when we 
shall all appear before Him, will require an 
account of it, fortify me in the fellowship 



of His only and eternal Son, the Lord Je- 
sus Christ ; and by the Holy Spirit, who, 
with the Father and Son, is one God bless- 
ed eternally, may He ever enable me in- 
creasingly to feel in my heart, and to 
say with sincerity and without wavering, 
" Thou art my portion, O Lord ! I have said 
that I would keep thy words^ 

Christian reader! it is yours now to 
judge whether my conclusion is conform 
able to what the Bible has spoken. 



NEARLY READY, 

The Autobiography of Heinrich Stilling, 

Late Aulic Counsellor to the Grand-duke of Baden, &c. Translated from the 
German, by S. Jackson. Price 25 cents. 

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 



From Frazer's Magazine. 
" This book is the most delightful in the whole course of 
German literature. It is equal, without being an allegory, 
to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress." 

Tait's. 
" Why has a work so long been withheld, or overlooked, 
which only requires to be known to make its way to the 
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ar of Wakefield V This may seem high praise ; but it is 
as highly merited. Let us conclude with hearty thanks to 
Mr. Jackson, who has given us a book from the German, 
which ought to become extensively popular, and which we 
trust will long continue to be admired by English readers, 
from its delightful affinity with aU that is felt to be the 
finer parts of our best national characteristics." 

Metropolitan. 
" The first part of this book is exquisitely pastoral ; and 
the beautiful simplicity of nature was never made to appear 
more beautiful than it does in the unsophisticated charac- 
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chosen to vindicate his ways, and to show how a true Chris- 
tian could bear up against all evils, pass unscathed through 
all trials, and meet, with pious resignation, aU tribulations. 
It is a book for the serious, and to make the thoughtless be- 
come so." 

Evangelical. 
" It is indeed a remarkable prodiiction ; incident and di- 
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sembling the composition of romance ; yet we caxmot doubt 
the truth of the narrative. The story is simple as the Pil- 
grim's Progress, and fascinating as Robinson Crusoe." 

Monthly Repository. 
" The book is one of that species, the enjoyment of which 
both implies and produces good in the reader. It resembles 
those simple scenes in nature, the charm of which is sent 
home to the heart by the universal power of nature, and 
fixes itself there more firmly than can all the violence of tor- 
rent, precipice, and tempest. An indescribable interest 
pervades the volume." 

Printing Machine. 
" This is a book not to be talked about, but to be fallen 
in love with, and one, therefore, rather for readers than for 
critics. It is hke a beautiful human countenance, formed 
to take the hearts of all beholders, but which yet no one 
ever became enamoured of from the truest and hveliest 
description. The book is altogether one of the most de- 
lightful we have ever read. Oh the whole, perhaps, in the 
interest it excites, and the hold it takes of the mind, it re- 
minds us as much of the effect of Robinson Crusoe as of any 
other narrative we know ; but the two differ in this, that 
whereas Defoe's work gives to fiction all the life and force 
of fact, this charms us by making fact as interesting and 
poetical as fiction. But in Stilling's life, the representation, 
if less rich and diversified, has perhaps even, from its great- 
er simplicity and more perfect unity, that which insinuates 
itself deeper into the heart. This is a mere story of ordi- 
nary hfe, but told by an extraordinary mind, which sheds 
over it of its own beauty, and makes its stoniest places to 
blossom like the rose. We feel that we have met with an 
honest book, as we might feel after having made acquaint- 
ance with a man, that we had found in him a noble na- 
ture. That simplicity of spirit which is not ignorance, but 
the highest wisdom, is spread over every page of the book 
like sunlight." 

Spectator. 
" Heinrich Stilling contains a complete picture of German 
life as exhibited among the better classes of the peasantry. 
It also presents us with a pictwye of a singular and power- 
ful, if not a first-rate mind, and ^vith the struggles its own- 
er underwent in the pursuit of learning." 

Literary Gazette. 
" A more perfect specimen of a style of writing pecuhar 
to Germany has never yet received an English translation. 
It is therefore a literary curiosity." 



AthencBum. 

"As a book of genuine and unaffected character, this 
biography has been rarely surpassed. The third volume 
closes a biography which, for its truth and simplicity, should 
be acceptable to all, whatsoever be their sect or party." 
Sun. 

" The first part of the book is strictly a prose pastoral, ad- 
hering closely to nature, and furnishing the reader with de- 
lightful specimens of the better class of German peasantry. 
The characters of the author's family, and the descriptions 
of his own early wanderings and studies, are given with a 
minuteness to which nothing but their extreme beauty and 
delicacy could reconcile us ; but, indeed, StiUing, Uke our 
own Goldsmith, adorns everything he touches— so fertile is 
his fancy, and so picturesque his power of narration. It is 
greatly to his credit, too, that though his book is impregna- 
ted with a strong religious feeUng, and his scriptural allu- 
sions are incessant, there is no cant or affectation of supe- 
rior virtue about him. Piety, in his estimation, is a thing 
to feel, not to talk about ; hence he recommends himself to 
aU classes of readers. * * * But the main charm of this- 
book is its unaffectedness, in which quality it may vie even 
with the Robinson Crusoe of Defoe." 

Conversations Lexicon. English Edition, Glasgow, vol. iv., 
p. 273. 

" His celebrated work is incomparable. He relates with 
modesty and simplicity the way in which his life was pass- 
ed among the classes of people less favoured by extensive 
gifts of fortune ; and his pious and pure heart discloses it- 
self so unaffectedly and involuntarily, and the style is at 
the same time so excellent, that the work is one of the 
most popular among the German classics." 
Christian Observer, Feb., 1836. 

" The translation, and not least that of the poetry, isweU 
executed. Jung, or, as he is more commonly called. Stilling, 
was a truly devout man, and unwearied in his labours to stem 
the torrent of vice and infidelity that broke in upon his na- 
tive land. 

Penny Cyclopcedia, 
" It was at Goethe's suggestion that he wrote his inter- 
esting Autobiography, to whom he had often related it. As 
a writer he was very popular." 

EXTRACTS FROM FOREIGN NOTICES. 
From Goethe^s Autobiography. 

" Among the new-comers, there was one who particularly 
interested me ; his name was Jung, and is the same who 
was afterward known under the appellation of Stilling. On 
becoming more intimately acquainted with him, he was 
found to possess a sound understanding, which, reposing 
upon the mind, suffered itself to be governed by inchnations 
and passions ; and from this very mind arose an enthusiasm 
for all that is good, right, and true, in the utmost possible 
purity : for his course of life had been very simple, and yet 
had abounded with events, and a manifold activity. The 
element of his energy was an impregnable faith in God, and 
in an assistance immediately proceeding from Him, which 
ob\-iously justified itself in an uninterrupted provision, and 
an infallible deliverance from every distress, and every evil. 
.Tung had experienced numerous instances of this kind in 
his life, and they had recently been frequently repeated ; sj 
that though he led a frugal hfe, yet it was without care and 
with the greatest cheerfulness ; and he appUed himself most 
diligently to his studies, although he could not reckon upon 
any certain subsistence from one quarter of a year to an- 
other.- I URGED HIM TO WRITE HIS LIFE, and he promised 
to do so." 

Mathison^s Letters, Part I. 

" StiUing, far from throwing toobriUiant a light upon the 
picture of his hfe, has, on the contrary, placed many things, 
and invariably those which are precisely the most'honour- 
able to his spirit and his heart, in a dubious and uncertain 
light. He has preserved in it many an excellent popular 
baUad." 

Conversations Lexicon. 
" He has described the greatest part of his life, without 
fictitious embellishments, in the celebrated work, ' Heinrich 
Stilling's Childhood, Sfouthful Years, and Wanderings,' in 
a manner which co upletely corresponds with his mental 
and piously poetic c ;aracter " 



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CAN I JOIN THE CHURCH OF ROME WHILE MY RULE OF 
FAITH IS THE BIBLE ? 



AN INQUIRY 



PEESENTED TO 



THE CONSCIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN READER, 



BY THE 



REV. CJISAR MALAN, D.D., 

PASTOR OF THE "CHURCH OF THE TESTIMONY," GENEVA. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE SECOND FRENCH EDITION. 
" Thou art my portion, Lord : I have said that I would keep thy words."— P*. cxix., 57. 



NEW-YORK: 
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1844. 






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